Starting Anew
by Dramione13
Summary: Post DH-It's been two years since the Battle of Hogwarts and Hermione has decided to leave England for France. As she makes her way in a new country, she finds herself face-to-face with someone she least expected to see.
1. Making Her Way

**Author's Note: **Hi everyone! So...I've decided to give writing a try after only reading fanfics for a few years. _PLEASE_ be gentle with your reviews. This is my first dramione fanfic ever. I haven't decided if I will continue this just yet. Anywho, enjoy! Thoughts and suggestions are encouraged. :)

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns it all. I only own this plot.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Making Her Way<strong>

_2:00 p.m., Friday, July 28, 2000, Wizarding University of Paris, Paris, France_

It was hard to believe that two years had passed since the Battle of Hogwarts. Hermione could still remember the day as if it were yesterday. She could vividly recount all of the chaos, the struggles, the anger, the fear and the final emotional high at the realization that the Dark Lord or Voldemort was finally gone forever. Now that it was all over, she could honestly say that she had no idea if Harry would have been as successful as he had been. For a few months, while they wandered the wilderness without Ron at their side, doubt had regretfully entered her when she would see Harry look so lost. She had tried so hard to help him figure out the next move so they could be a step ahead but he would just give her this look that seemed to say, _"I don't know what to do next"._Thankfully, they were able to figure it all out and the turn of events ended up being triumphant for the Order and for all of wizarding kind. She hated to think what would have happened if the latter had progressed. If Voldemort still lived, then she wouldn't have been able to-

" 'Ermione Granger? Iz there a Miss 'Ermione Granger 'ere?"

Hermione snapped her head up. She hadn't realized that the secretary had been calling her name for the last three minutes. She had gotten so lost in her thoughts that she almost missed her appointment with the headmaster at the Wizarding University of Paris. Ever since she had returned to Hogwart's to complete her seventh year after the war, Hermione had opted to go to college afterwards. Needless to say, both Harry and Ron had argued with her extensively on her negating her opportunity to work for the ministry straightaway when she decided to return to Hogwart's. They argued even more so when she decided to go back for more schooling. Eventually, Harry had come around and accepted her decision. Ron, however, was not very happy about it:

_"I don't understand any of this!" Ron had argued. "Why are you so stubborn to go back to school? We are war heroes! The golden trio! AND you have now graduated from Hogwart's when you didn't have to. Surely,that means you don't have to go to school ever again. I mean, bloody hell, we helped defeat the darkest wizard of our time!"_

_"Yes, of course you wouldn't understand!" she had yelled back. "You can't see or know what this means to me! I don't want a ministry job to be handed to me! I want to EARN it! And I like to learn! So with or without your support, I am going back to school!"_

_"But what about us? Are you going to keep putting our relationship in the backburner while you go off to school again?"_

Sadly, that argument had led to many more and despite everything they had gone through, it caused Ron and Hermione's relationship to strain and eventually caused it to end. It had now been three months since she and Ron had broken up and true to her word, she proceeded to apply for college. Without his support.

Before the secretary could call out her name a third time, she quickly made her way to the headmaster's office with a quick thank you and took a seat in one of the two chairs in front of the dark mahogany desk of the school's headmaster, Gaspard Dubois. The headmaster didn't even look up while Hermione walked in. He seemed to be too preoccupied in revising her transcripts and recommendation letter as Hermione settled herself. Another two minutes passed in silence and Hermione began to fidget in her chair and chewed on her lower lip. This interview was the last step she had to go through to see if she was eligible for their school and it was the most nerve-wracking experience by far. Finally, after another few minutes of silence, she cleared her throat softly in order to get the headmaster's attention. He finally looked up.

"Ah! Good morning, Miss Granger," he said.

"Good morning, sir," she responded.

"I apologize if I seem a bit distracted," he offered. "I am just in shock by your transcripts. According to this, you have exceeded all of the NEWTs you took last summer with Outstandings as well as written a thesis over the benefits on marketing to the public the Wolfsbaine potion"

"Sir?" she asked softly.

"Furthermore, according to this recommendation from Headmistress McGonagall, you had been offered a position within the Ministry of Magic in England and yet you have refused to take it. May I ask the reason why?"

"Oh. Well, you see sir, I actually have no interest in working for the ministry at the moment. At first, my plans were to work for the Magical Law Enforcement department in order to enforce the proper care and well-being of magical creatures. However…"

In all honesty, Hermione didn't have a real reason for negating her chance at the ministry. Everyone had assumed that she would have taken the position once she graduated Hogwart's but she had decided to prove everyone wrong by taking an unexpected route.

"However…" the headmaster repeated.

"However, I felt that my education was more important and I would like to earn the necessary credentials before I take the next step. I would like to earn my way."

"But Miss Granger, I think you have more than earned your way and you are more than qualified. As I've stated, you have passed your NEWTs with Outstandings, helped defeat the darkest wizard the wizarding world has ever known and even wrote this thesis," he said while motioning a hand towards the transcripts.

Throughout his speech, Hermione remained quiet.

"So please, help me understand why you are willing to put your future ministry career in pause. In all honesty, this is a bit bewildering," he confessed.

With an internal sigh, she began to tell him what she had not planned to say.

"With all due respect, headmaster, I just want to get away from England for a bit. Going to school seemed to be the best way to do so without being idle. Not to mention, it will help train me for a position I don't feel like I am qualified to take just yet. And the reason I keep saying that I want to earn my way is because I really do want to earn my way. If I were to take that position being offered by the ministry, I want it to be because I applied like any other candidate would have done so. I want to be certified and not have the backlash of getting the position just because I am wartime heroine…I don't know if that makes any sense to you, sir, but those are my motives."

She took a deep breath and waited for his response.

The headmaster gave her a pensive look for a few more minutes before saying, "Yes, Miss Granger. That does make sense."

Another few more moments passed by and then the headmaster finally cleared his throat and began the official interview process.

"So…Miss Granger…why are you interested in attending the Wizarding University of Paris specifically?"

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><p>After about an hour, Hermione finally exited the headmaster's office with a smile on her face. Despite her knowing that the process itself would be grueling, the headmaster seemed to really have taken a liking to her answers and seemed to almost smile himself when he saw how excited she was to be attending further schooling and speaking about her other future aspirations. Though he had told her that she would get a response via owl in a week with his decision, he had gone ahead welcomed her to the school.<p>

Needless to say, Hermione was on cloud nine as she walked out of the building and towards the Apparition point back to England. She couldn't wait to tell her parents, the Weasleys and Harry. She somewhat knew that the interview was going to be successful but she still didn't want be presumptuous about it. But now that it was done and over with, she couldn't help the giddiness within her. She was just so excited! Finally, here was her chance to start anew. Somewhere where no one really knew her. Of course, they would have read about her but they didn't know her. That prospect made her smile even bigger.

As she turned the corner in such a rush, she collided with someone that nearly knocked her down on her bum just as other person _"oofed!" _outloud. Luckily, the other person grabbed ahold of her waist and righted her before she could fall.

"Oh! I am terribly sorry! I-Malfoy?!"

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><p><strong>AN: Please review :)**


	2. Unexpected Face

**Author's Note: **Had a bit of fun writing this chapter. Hope you like it. :)

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns it all. I only own this plot.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Unexpected Face<strong>

_"Malfoy?"_

As soon as he heard her call his surname, he released her quickly. Of all the people to run into in a foreign country, it had to be 'know-it-all' Granger!

"Oh, fucking brilliant," he muttered lowly. He then proceeded to wipe his hands on his trousers while looking everywhere else but her. Despite the summer weather, he was wearing black trousers with a form-fitting dark grey sweater. His silver-blond hair was slightly askew due to their crash but not too unkept.

"Yes, it's wonderful to see you too," Hermione snapped as she narrowed her eyes at him. She then adjusted her white short-sleeved cotton button shirt and her lavender skirt while he dusted himself. "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he answered with sarcasm. He ran a hand over his hair, trying to fix it.

She stared hard at him for a few seconds and then her eyes widened in surprise.

"No…NO! Please tell me you are joking! You CANNOT be serious! I thought you were working your father's business?" she argued.

"Well, if you really must know, I am not. I am serious and since you seem to know everything, I will not deign to answer your question." And with that, he moved swiftly to the side and continued walking, leaving her standing there with her mouth agape and staring after him.

Before she could think of a response, Draco Malfoy walked into the same building she had just exited and the door snapped shut behind him.

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><p><em>No! No way! Draco Malfoy simply cannot BE here! There must be a mistake! Why is he even here? He should be back in England! He can't just leave off his responsibilities for this…this…school?...can he?<em>

These thoughts kept going in a loop within her head as she continued her walk towards the Apparition point. Her few moments of joy had now turned sour with the arrival of Draco. But then again, if he was there for the same purpose as she, then he was barely going through the interview process. That last thought made her hopeful.

_Maybe he won't do so well,_ she reasoned. _Maybe the headmaster will dislike him on site. And besides, his coming to this interview doesn't mean automatic acceptance._

_Does it?_

The last time Hermione had seen Draco was after the battle of Hogwarts when the Wizengamot was holding trials on captured Death Eaters. She had actually sat in for his family's hearing along with Ron in support of Harry. Harry had been requested by Narcissa to come in and testify in favor of the Malfoys. Though Harry didn't want to do it, he knew it was the right thing to do. And so, the three of them attended the trial.

Despite Draco and his family's discontinued loyalty towards the Dark Lord near the end, they were still being judged for their earlier involvement. Lucius Malfoy ended up being charged with various counts for his involvement which consisted of attempted murder, treason and extortion. He got sentenced to Azkaban for the next five years without appeals being possible. All things considered, this was still a pretty lenient sentence despite everything. Lucius, however, was left looking mortified by the ruling but resigned to his fate.

As for Draco, he was very lucky as was his mother. They were both sentenced to house arrest for the next six months. Furthermore, they both had to pay a hefty fine via donation to a foundation that helped Muggles attacked during the second war that needed help rebuilding their lives. Thanks to Harry's testimony, it had been decided that Draco was still a minor at the time he was "coerced" into attempting to kill their former headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Furthermore, he had been evasive in identifying the 'golden trio' when they had been captured and brought to Malfoy Manor. Thanks to this, his move later helped saved their lives as well as lead the way to their subsequent escape. As for his mother, it had been decided that she had saved Harry Potter's life when she lied to the Dark Lord about him being dead and was mostly forced by her husband to remain involved and loyal against her will.

In all, Hermione had thought the Malfoys very lucky. Their money was not frozen or taken away from them and they had not lost their estates or investments. Furthermore, the family business was also left to Draco to manage since he was now of age and his father would not be able to do so. And that was that.

After the hearing, Hermione didn't have many public run-ins with either of them and for that she was glad of it. This, however, did not mean that she did not hear about them all the time. Their hearing and ruling was one of the biggest scandals and controversies in the UK wizarding world. The Daily Prophet as well as other journals and magazines had written many articles about them. Some of them had been favorable but the majority had been very nasty. Many wizards and witches had even gone as far as boycotting the ministry when their verdict had been reached. They believed that the Wizengamot had been too lenient and their punishment too lax. Nevertheless, the verdict stayed unchanged and the Malfoys received much backlash and rejection in many social circles.

This, however, did not last long. After their six-month house arrest, and thanks to their money and connections, the Malfoys rebounded back with a vengeance. They had even made the extra effort to support many causes via galleons and charity balls that benefitted both the muggle and wizarding world. Furthermore, Mrs. Malfoy went as far as to chair the same foundation she had been forced to make a donation by the Wizengamot. Needless to say, these efforts helped the Malfoys restore their name little by little even though the majority at large was still very wary of them.

Even after a year, the Malfoys still continued to be in the papers. Well, mostly Mrs. Malfoy. As for Draco, he seemed to have gone underground. Every time he did appear in public, he seemed to shy away from reporters that would try to hound him for random questions. If anything, he seemed to dedicate himself towards the family business and being around his close friends. Though the few scarce times she had run into him, he still acted like the big prat he was in school. It seemed that despite the war and everything else, Draco's personality had not changed one bit. He was still as arrogant, self-serving, domineering and as pompous a jerk he had always been while at Hogwarts, minus the Mudblood insults. She was just glad that their constant run-ins had been very scarce to begin with. She didn't have to deal with him at all.

So with all this in mind, Hermione couldn't fathom a reason why Malfoy was willing to give up everything to go back to school. Why did he even want to go back (and to this school no less) if he already had a secure future? Sure, she wasn't one to judge but she couldn't help her curiosity. She continued to ponder this as she Apparated back to her flat.

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><p><em>6:00 p.m., Friday, July 28, 2000, Granger Household, London, England <em>

After a quick shower and change of clothes, Hermione left to meet her parents for their ritual Friday dinner at the Granger household. Ever since the war had ended, Hermione had tried to make more of an effort to be part of her parents' lives. In a way, she was trying to rebuild their trust after she had modified their memories. Her parents had not been happy to learn that they had lost a year of their lives and had nearly lost their daughter's life in the process. They had been upset at first when Hermione finally told them everything but then they seemed to understand. Still, from then on, they had been wary of their daughter ever since. Hermione only hoped that with time she would be able to build the relationship they once had and not have them fear her or her wand capabilities.

At 6pm on the dot, she knocked on her parents' door. She still felt weird about just walking right in when she no longer lived there. So she patiently waited for one of her parents to open the door. As it opened, she smiled widely at her mother.

"Hermione!" her mother greeted as she hugged Hermione tightly.

"Hello mum," Hermione answered with a soft chuckle. Her mother's enthusiasm never failed to make her smile. It was the same every week.

"I am so glad you're here! Ned! Hermione's home!" she yelled as she guided Hermione in and closed the door. Together, they both walked towards the kitchen where Hermione's father was sitting by the dining table, chopping carrots.

"Hello love," her father called. "You're here just in time. Your mum has me slaving away, prepping these veggies for the beef stew she's making."

At this comment, her mother 'tsk' and swatted him playfully on the arm as Hermione laughed.

"That's alright," she said. "I can take over, dad." And she took the items from her father's hands as her father looked at her gratefully.

"So tell us," her mother started without beating around the bush. "Did you get in? What's the school like? Was the headmaster a nice man?"

"Good heavens, Jean! Take a breath," her father teased. He then turned to Hermione. "I am sure you did wonderfully. Isn't that right?"

Hermione smiled. "Thanks dad. And yes, the headmaster was a very nice man." She then turned to chop the carrots while her parents tittered and waited for her to continue. When she still kept them in suspense, her father probed. "And…?"

"And…I got in!" she shrieked, while bouncing on the heels of her feet. She then put the knife down and threw her arms around her father. Her father chuckled and said, "That's wonderful!" She then proceeded to hug her mother again and both shrieked together for a few more seconds.

"Tell us everything!" her mother demanded as she headed back to the stove to stir the meat for their stew. Her smile was so huge that Hermione obliged right away.

"Merlin, the interview was tough! It was as I suspected it would be! And, of course, he questioned why I wanted to further my school as he reviewed my academic history. But overall, the headmaster seemed really pleased with everything. And even though he said that his official answer was to arrive by owl within a week, he went ahead and welcomed me!" she recounted.

"That's great news! I'm proud of you!" her father said. Then suddenly, he added, "Well, this calls for a celebration then! Jean, stop everything. We are going out."

"But…the stew…it's already half-way done," her mother protested.

"Jean, it's not every day our little girl gets into the Wizarding University of Paris. The stew can wait to be finished later. Now, go on. Get your coat."

With a resigned sigh, Mrs. Granger turned the stove off and left the kitchen. As she made her way upstairs, Mr. Granger whispered to Hermione, "I really am proud of you, poppet. But I am also very happy that you are giving us an excuse to go out. I am sorry to say this but beef stew is just not your mum's forte."

Hermione chuckled softly as her mother made her way back down.

"What's so funny?" Jean asked.

"Oh nothing," he replied. "I was just telling Hermione what little Robbie did the other day during his dental visit. Remember? The missing toothbrushes from our lobby that had strategically ended up falling out of his trouser pockets?"

"Oh my. Yes, that Robbie. I wonder what he was thinking when had stuffed the majority of that box into his tiny pockets," she said with a shake of her head. "His poor mother was mortified."

As they made their way to the door, Mr. Granger turned towards Hermione. "So, have you decided where we are going to eat? You still have much to tell us."

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><p><em>10:00 a.m., Saturday, July 29, 20<em>_00, Hermione's flat, Diagon Alley, England_

Hermione continued to lie in her bed for a few more minutes despite being awake for a few hours. She was still trying to process everything that had happened the day before. Overall, with the exception of the Draco run-in, it had been a good one. But she was still hoping against hope that Draco's interview went bad so she wouldn't have to see him ever again. _Why am I even wasting my thoughts on him? _she scolded herself. _He's not worth-_

At that moment, Crookshanks decided to jump on Hermione's abdomen and meowed really loudly. She laughed at this antic.

"My, aren't you the drama king?" she chuckled. "Are you hungry?" Instead of meowing his response, Crookshanks just looked up at her expectantly.

"Oh alright, alright. I'm up, you bossy pants," she chided playfully.

As Hermione made her way to the bathroom to get ready for the day, the Floo went off suddenly.

"Hermione? Are you there?" called Ginny.

"Ginny?" she asked as she made her way to the living room.

"Oh! I didn't realize you were still in bed. Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Why? Is something wrong?"

"No no, it's just…you're always up and about early in the morning. I don't think I've ever caught you in your pajamas at…10am." She then laughed and Hermione joined in.

"No, everything's fine. I promise. I just decided to have a late start today. How are you? Everything good at the Burrow?"

"Yes, everything's fine. I'm just Flooing you because mum's driving me batty. She keeps telling me to ask you about your interview yesterday. PLEASE give me something good to tell her. Or else she said she is going to Apparate to your flat if you don't say anything soon."

Hermione chuckled at her last statement.

"Actually, Ginny, I was planning on coming over later today to share the whole thing. Will…umm…well, you know…_everyone_be there?"

Ginny gave an un-ladylike snort. "If by everyone you mean my arsehole brother Ron, then no. He will not be around. He said that he has to attend a conference for work since he had missed it during the week. So…with the exception of him, the rest of us-including Harry-are actually going to meet up for brunch at noon today. Want to come? That would be the perfect opportunity for your news."

With a sigh of relief, she answered, "Sure, that's fine. Just give me some time to get ready and I'll head over to help within half an hour."

"Sounds good. See you soon"

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><p><em>1:45 p.m.,<em> _Saturday, July 29, 2000, The Burrow, England _

"So…you're telling me that ferret-face had the gall to apply for the same school as you?" Ginny asked in amazement. As Hermione wrapped up telling the Weasleys the good news, she had decided to tell Ginny and Harry the news about Draco in private. They were currently taking a stroll around the Burrow's hillside.

"Yes, if you can believe it." Hermione then shook her head. "My only hope is that he did horribly on his interview or that he has gotten deferred. Or maybe even rejected."

"Don't you think that's a bit much?" Harry asked. "I mean, I know he's still a foul git but don't you think he has a right to do the same as you?"

Ginny huffed. "Whose side are you on?"

"Hey, I'm just trying to play the devil's advocate here," he defended. "Besides, if he does get in, it's not like Hermione will see him every day. This school won't be like Hogwarts-it's college. There won't be houses to be sorted into or stupid rivalry. And I am sure that his bigotry is sure to be nonexistent now. Who knows? Maybe he's changed some."

"Ha! I seriously doubt that, Harry. Did you not hear me telling you the way he treated me yesterday?" Hermione asked with a sniff. "He acted the same as usual. It might be habit, you know. And I bet the day he is forced to treat me differently, he won't know what to do with himself."

Ginny gave a short laugh at this while Harry smiled and answered, "Yeah, you may be right."

They continued walking a bit more in silence before Harry spoke again.

"Just promise me one thing?"

"Yeah?"

"Please don't fall off the face of the earth."

When Hermione started to protest, he cut her off, "You know what I mean, 'Mione. Don't get too wrapped up with your school work that you forget we exist. Especially since we won't be around to moderate your schoolwork intake."

At this comment, Hermione shoved him playfully.

"I'm serious. At the very least, Floo us at least once a week in addition to owls so we can remember what you sound like."

"Yeah," Ginny chirped in. "And don't forget to send us postcards and pictures while you're at it."

"Honestly, you two. I am going to FRANCE. Not China, South Africa or India. France. And you both can come visit me too, you know."

"Don't worry, we intend to. When you least expect it too," Harry said with a smirk.

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><p><strong>AN: I know this chapter kind of dragged but I wanted to give some history. Next chapter will be all about Draco, promise :)**


	3. Regrets

**Author's Note: **So here's Draco for you all. Most of this is internal dialogue with some history. Hope you like it. :)

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns it all. I only own this plot.

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Regrets<strong>

_3:16 p.m., Friday, August 4, 2000, Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, England_

_Université de sorcellerie de Paris (Wizarding University of Paris)_

_Headmaster: Gaspard Dubois (L'ordre de Merlin, deuxième classe, Le conseiller de Wizengamot du ministère français de magie, présider membre de conseil de l'hôpital Pierre de saint)_

_Dear Mr. Draco Lucius Malfoy,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at the Wizarding University of Paris. Attached to this letter you will find a list of information and resources you may need during your educational tenure. Such resources include housing information, course availability and registration dates, faculty information, etcetera. Term begins on Monday, September 4th, 2000. We await your owl response by Friday, August 11th, 2000 to confirm your attendance at our school._

_We truly hope that you will find your experience with us to be very enriching. We strive to provide the best education and training for all your future endeavors. We in return hope you will prove your mettle and not let our confidence down._

_The entire Wizarding University of Paris welcomes you and wishes you all the best for your career. We appreciate your enthusiasm in our university and hope all your wishes are fulfilled by us._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Louis Devereaux, Deputy Headmaster_

Draco blinked when he read his letter for the first time and then had to reread it again.

And again.

And again.

Finally, a small smile broke on his lips. He still couldn't believe that he had just received his acceptance letter. After his interview last week, he was so sure he had blown his chances. Mostly because the headmaster seemed to be very aware of who he is (or was, rather). Before the interview even began, he had been greeted in a very stiff and grumpy manner. Then, during the interview, the headmaster mostly seemed to stare at him as he answered the interview questions, almost to the point of making him feel unsettled. And then, at the end of it all, the headmaster had simply concluded their meeting by telling him, "Thank you for coming. Please wait for my owl within a week with my response."

Needless to say, he had left that interview feeling pretty disgruntled. So once he Apparated back to England, he sat at his office desk at the manor and reevaluated his reasoning for attending the interview in the first place. All the while drinking down many glasses of Ogden's finest.

During his self-deprecating session, he couldn't help but think he was an idiot for considering further education as beneficial. He had honest to Merlin thought that doing so would help him get more fully trained and certified to run his family's business. Investments were sadly not his strong point despite his love for numbers. He even went as far as applying to the school that was strongly recommended because it was supposed to be unbiased and neutral despite one's personal history. Not to mention, it was away from the madness that seem to be ever present in the wizarding UK.

But it seemed that despite his efforts to remain away from the public eye (even finishing his seventh year of schooling at home), his history had a way of catching up to him time and time again. And he despised it. So, from that point of view, he didn't fully blame the headmaster for his initial reaction. He would hate himself on sight too, if he could.

There were already a few things that he regretted in his short life. The first was being manipulated by a madman into doing his bidding. At the time, he had really thought he was doing the right thing in order to protect his family.

But that just ended up proving how wrong he truly was. Not a day went by without him wishing he had taken the headmaster's offer that night in the Astronomy Tower. Things could have been so different for him, and he would have saved himself the stress and fear that followed him throughout that year.

Instead, all he had to show for it now was a bad reputation and a Dark Mark that wouldn't fully disappear.

That detestable tattoo...

He had gone so far as to consult with the most famous (and albeit expensive) healers to help him remove it. But to his misfortune, the answer was always the same: since it was made by dark magic, there was no way to get rid of it. If he fully wanted to remove it, his only solution would be to amputate his arm in order to avoid looking at it. And since Draco didn't fancy missing a limb, the Dark Mark remained.

In addition to that regret, he also hated being compared to his father. If anything was farther from the truth, that was it. He was nothing like him and hoped to never be. His father even said it himself, _"You're too soft to be my son. Pathetic. Just like your mother." _

Even as he took on the Dark Mark at the age of 16, he no longer truly held his father's convictions to heart. How his father, his aunt, or any of the other Death Eaters could believe in something so narrow-minded was beyond him. Especially when the man that was spouting such garbage wasn't even a pureblood himself. He couldn't believe that at one time he used to be just like them, a mindless idiot.

Actually, if he really thought about it, it wasn't until he began attending Hogwarts that he truly realized just how much of his father's theories and beliefs were complete and utter codswallop. Despite his father's careful education on pureblood supremacy, Draco had always had the tenacity to question things before he could fully accept them. Of course, he never voiced these opinions to his father in order to avoid backlash and punishment, but the questions remained with him as he matured.

At the time, all he really wanted was to win his father's approval and praise instead of his critique which was frequent. He had idolized him and even dreamed of being just like him one day. So he held it all in and did as his father bade. Amazing how time changed one's mentality…

Now, however, he liked to believe that he was not a mindless follower or a person with blind faith or conviction. He liked to have his facts straight before he invested his energies into anything consuming. Therefore, when he had daily interactions with a certain Muggleborn witch during his school years that seemed to be the walking contradiction to it all, he couldn't help but question, "Are purebloods really that supreme?"

Huh…that Muggleborn witch…

If he had to pinpoint his second regret, he would have to say that she was it. Granger.

Hermione Granger. That _bird_.

The most brilliant Muggleborn witch of their age.

If only he could get his hands on a Time Turner to go back and redo their initial introduction. Every time he took a moment to look back at his early years, he couldn't help but cringe at his behavior towards her; even though at times she did deserve his being a git when she provoked him.

He did not, however, regret his behavior towards Potter or Weasley. Those two were a pair of self-righteous pillocks through and through. And despite Potter's sacrifice to the wizarding world, he still couldn't help disliking 'the-boy-who-still-won't-die' for his personality alone. Not to mention the complete and utter new adoration with which the wizarding world was now garnishing him. As if he needed another reason to despise him. And as for Weasley? Well, who can stand that bugger to begin with? It was bad enough that he was now working at the ministry alongside his father and that ponce of an older brother of his, Peter. Or was it Penley? Well, whatever that prat's name is, three Weasley's working for the ministry was bad enough.

Granger, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Despite her choice of friends, he actually grew to admire and respect her. Especially during their verbal sparring matches on occasion. He even felt a bit attracted to her despite her not being his usual type.

Huh, who was he kidding? She was _exactly_ his type. Well, despite her blood status but that shit no longer mattered to him.

Wait, what was he saying? He…oh yes.

He regretted her immensely.

When he had turned his back on Hogwarts and disappeared with that pack of deranged Voldemort followers, he had no idea how much he would miss her. Or their frequent interactions, though it was mostly unpleasant at times.

And oh, how he missed those verbal sparrings. She was so good at them. Even when he wasn't the one to bait her first, she was always so smart, clever and witty. He enjoyed them immensely. She was the first and only to challenge and stimulate him intellectually. It was refreshing.

Though he no longer despised her so much for her blood status, he just couldn't help but antagonize her for the fun of it. Besides, it would have been strange if he changed his behaviour after so many years of confrontations between her friends and his. In a way, he had fallen into a routine and didn't know how to get out of it. So he continued the pattern for old time's sake, despite his growing attraction.

And even though he would utter the word Mudblood, it was done without a second thought. To him, that word no longer held meaning, connotation, or belief. Instead, it was just used as another word he would use to call her like barmy or bint. Two other words which he had also used during their verbal wars.

If only he could have known beforehand how much she had affected him...

Or the year after when he was virtually being held prisoner in his own home and saw her being brought in with her two idiot friends. He still remembered vividly how his stomach had dropped to his feet when he saw them there in the Malfoy drawing room, being questioned excessively by his crazy Aunt Bella. And as if to add insult to injury, he remembered vividly how he felt nothing but horror, remorse and complete helplessness as he watched her get tortured and writhe on the floor in pain. Her screams made him feel no better about the whole ordeal.

At that moment, he felt he had sealed his fate at being 'Granger-less'. Why would she even think about him in that way after everything he'd put her through and witnessed? She would be nuts if she even considered it or even developed feelings for him. And he would be nuts to try and convince her otherwise.

But fate seemed to have a twisted sense of humor. Because in spite of his focused attention on running his family's business and applying to go to school in a foreign country, all in an attempt to move on, she had to go ahead and apply at the same place. Even run into him on the same day of his interview.

Once he saw her coming out of that office building, there was no doubt in his mind that she had been accepted.

He couldn't believe his luck. After almost two years of completely being off the radar so to speak, she was there. In the flesh.

And she looked wonderful.

One would have thought that after not seeing a person for so long, those previous feelings and anxieties would have passed on. What was that Muggle saying? 'Out of sight, out of mind?' Well, sadly that was not the case for him. In his case, once he laid his eyes on her, it was like breathing a breath of fresh air.

It wasn't, however, as if he had never seen or heard about her. He had actually run into her very rarely on occasion but their interaction was much of the same. And the Daily Prophet did a wonderful job in keeping up with her personal life and taking plenty of pictures. Through there, he had read about her returning to Hogwarts and of her refusal to work at the Ministry despite the great opportunity they were offering her. That last bit of news he still couldn't understand. Why didn't she want to work straightaway when the position was right up her alley? That made no sense whatsoever.

Besides learning about these tidbits, he also had the misfortune of hearing about her dating life and her current attachment to that pathetic galleon-less ginger. He had always known that the weasel would sooner or later lay his claim over her. It was only a matter of time. And that made him exceedingly jealous and frustrated. He had no doubt that his terrible behaviour towards her was fueled by it at times. He just couldn't help himself. Though if he recalled correctly, they were apparently having issues together and…

…according to a close source of his, they were no longer together…huh…

_I wonder what happened there_, he mused.

And then he cracked a real grin when he realized something. He looked down again at the acceptance letter in his hands.

He was going to get his chance to see her every day again. Reproachful consciousness be damned. He would make sure of it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Please review! :)**


	4. Moving to the City of Light

**Author's Note: **So for some reason today, I was inspired to write another chapter. Let me know what you think! :)

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns it all. I only own this plot.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Moving to the City of Light<strong>

_5:38 p.m., Thursday, August 30, 2000, Hermione's new Parisian Flat, Muggle Paris, France _

"Hermione, where do you want this box?"

"Hmm?"

"The box? You know_, this_ box?" Harry said as he shifted the box and grunted. "Merlin, did you have to bring your whole library with you?" he teased.

"Oh, shush. Just put it in that corner," she said as she continued unwrapping newspaper from her dishes in the kitchen. She and Ginny were sitting at the dining table as Harry and George helped drag in boxes and furniture from the mover's truck.

"I'm serious. Are you sure you're going to need your sixth-year advanced Arithmancy books while taking a course on international ministry policy?"

Hermione rolled the newspaper wrappings in a ball and tossed it at him playfully as he ducked his head while grinning.

"Oh leave her be, Harry. You know Hermione can't leave any book behind," Ginny teased. She then took the dish Hermione unwrapped and stacked it on the table while continuing to unwrap a coffee mug.

"For your information, it never hurts to be prepared", Hermione quipped. "Like I told you before, as a first year, I have to take general classes and choose three electives before I can take courses for my career. These books that I brought with me are for future reference."

"So you're thinking of choosing an elective course on Arithmancy? Ugh." And Harry gave a little shake as he went back outside to the moving truck to help George with the sofa. Ginny laughed as he walked out and Hermione smiled.

Despite going to a wizardry university, Hermione had opted to rent a flat in Muggle Paris. Her reasoning was that she wanted to fully experience living in Muggle Paris. And though it would be more convenient to live in wizarding Paris, in her mind it wouldn't be the same. Sadly for her friends that were helping her move, that meant she had to move her things in the Muggle way. Or else people (her neighbor's mostly) would think it odd that she settled in rather too quickly.

She was lucky that her friends had been able to help. With Harry working as an Auror, George managing his joke shop and Ginny playing for the Holyhead Harpies, it had been difficult for all of them to agree on a day to help her move. Finally, the Thursday before school began worked for everyone.

"I'm so jealous you get to live here," Ginny said as she sat down the mug in her hand and looked around the flat again. "This definitely looks like something out of a dream."

"I know what you mean. I still can't believe I was able to get this place. And so quickly," she answered.

It truly was a pretty nice place. Though it was a bit small and on the third floor, all things considered, Hermione was rather lucky indeed. The flat was less than five minutes away from wizarding Paris, whose entrance was located near Champs-Élysées. It had the most wonderful view of the Arc of Triumph (Arc de Triomphe)from her bedroom window and also had a fireplace. Not to mention, the place was inexpensive compared to others she had found. The only sad part about it was that she was not allowed to have pets. So poor Crookshanks had been left with her parents, who in return promised to look after him in her absence.

After working in companionable silence for a few minutes, Ginny spoke up.

"So…has Ron tried to…you know…talk to you in person?" And Ginny's face cringed slightly. She didn't know if she should even bring him up since Hermione looked set on moving on.

Hermione sighed, "No, he hasn't. I mean…he has been owling me once a week now but I've been ignoring them. I'm sorry, Ginny. I know he's your brother and all but…the way he ended things was just...I don't know, immature?"

"Hey, don't worry," she assured. " I understand. Ron can be a bit of a stubborn git with his anger. Not to mention unreasonable and...well, you already know this."

Hermione snorted in response.

"If anything, he seems to be regretful and mum's been giving him an earful. I know it's not much but he really seems sorry for the way he ended things." At this, Hermione shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes well, I don't know if I'm quite ready for his apology at the moment."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang outside of the front door and both girls jumped at the sound.

"Oh my…George! Harry! Are you alright?" she called out. In a way, she was glad for their interruption. She really didn't want to talk about Ron just yet.

"We're fine!" yelled George in a grunt. "Harry's hands just decided to slip off the couch."

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Harry argued. Before Hermione could answer, both appeared with the couch and walked it over to the small living room area. They placed it down with it facing towards the kitchen dining table.

"Where are the pillows?" Hermione asked while rising her eyebrows.

"Sorry. The buggers fell out when the couch fell in the hallway. I'll go get them," Harry said and walked out.

"Well, Hermione, I just have to say how grateful I am that you pack rather lightly," George said while sitting himself on the couch and leaning back. Harry meanwhile walked back in and tossed George the pillows, allowing him to fix them in place.

Hermione grinned. "Well, it's only me living here. Not much is needed."

They had been moving her things in for the last three hours and the couch was the last of her big furniture to be dragged in.

"Yes, how very true." Then George asked nonchalantly. "SO…when's dinner?" He then looked down and pretended to inspect his nails. Ginny rolled her eyes at his behaviour as Harry took a seat next to him.

"Oh honestly, George. Mum packed those sandwiches for us. So that should be enough." Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Wait, did you eat _all_ of them?" she asked incredulously.

George raised his hands in front of himself and defended, "Hey, I was starving. This moving business is tiring and I needed my energy."

Hermione and Harry laughed while Ginny frowned.

"But that was a lot of food! It's amazing you're not fat, you pig. And _you,_" she turned her gaze at Harry. "Should have said something to him."

"I didn't even know there was food," he chuckled out while George pouted and said, "Hey! I take offense to that! It's Mr Pig!"

"That's ok, Ginny. I guess these two boys have earned themselves a decent cooked meal," Hermione replied.

"Yeah, but your kitchen's not even set for cooking just yet."

"Who says _I'm_ cooking?" she answered with a mischievous smile towards the boys.

"Hey!" George and Harry protested.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'm joking, you two. We're going out." She then smiled. "So where to, boys and girl?"

* * *

><p><em>7:04 p.m., Thursday, August 30, 2000, a Parisian restaurant, Paris, France <em>

"I want to make a toast", Ginny called out around the table.

All eyes turned to Ginny then and they waited while raising their glasses.

"A toast to our good friend, Hermione. May she have a successful three years and may they go quickly. And…" she paused for a second with a grin. "May she come back and visit us as frequently as possible."

"Oh, Ginny. I'll only be a Floo house call away-" she protested.

"I second that toast," Harry piped up, cutting her off.

"Cheers!" George called out. Hermione just rolled her eyes and smiled. The way they kept talking about her falling off the face of the earth was pretty funny. It wasn't like the three of them weren't busy themselves with their crazy schedules. But she refrained from bringing that up.

As they finished clinking their glasses and sipping their drinks, George looked over at Ginny, who nodded her head in response, and took out a large book-sized box from under the table, handing it over to Hermione. Hermione looked at the box in surprise.

"Aww George, Ginny. You shouldn't have!"

"It's just a little something from the lot of us Weasleys…and Harry," he threw in quickly. When she still stared at the box and didn't make a move to open it, he cajoled, "Well, go on then. Open it."

"I'm kind of scared," she admitted and then looked up with a lopsided smile. "No offense, but a gift from your hands is never a good thing."

George grinned and said, "Touché. But in this case, I promise that I have restrained myself from any pyrotechnics or pranks. You're in the clear."

Taking that last statement as assurance, she finally opened the box and found that inside was actually a collage of many wizarding pictures organized within a cherry red wooden frame. The pictures were of her, Harry and the Weasleys from their happier times at the Burrow and Hogwarts. At the top of the frame was a small plaque that read, _'We only part to meet again.'_

Tears welled up in her eyes at the thoughtfulness of the picture frame. Despite the picture collage including Ron, she couldn't deny that he had been a big part of her life or forget all of the good times she had spent in the company of the Weasleys.

She looked up and smiled as a tear fell from one of her eyes.

"Thank you. Really. This is very thoughtful of you all."

"We aren't kidding when we keep saying we'll miss you," Harry said.

"I know…"

"Or when we keep saying you'll forget-"

"-Oh for Merlin's sakes-"

"Just wanted to reiterate," Harry said with a chuckle as he put an arm around Ginny, who was sitting next to him.

"How about this? I solemnly swear, as a witch, to write an owl to you all at least once a week. Does that sound fair?"

"Hmm," George said as stroked his chin, "Who knows? Will you hold yourself to that promise while faced with the dilemma of writing many rolls on Ancient Runes?"

She scoffed and said in a bored tone. "Yes, I promise."

"We're just yanking your leg, Hermione. We know you'll remember." Ginny assured. "So are you excited about this new chapter of your life? Blimey, that sounded ominous."

Everyone laughed.

"Of course I am, but I know it will be different. And weird. I won't have you all with me but that's ok. I'll have you all with me in this frame," she said as she lifted the frame up.

"If anything, I am very excited at the prospect of no one really knowing me. Kind of like starting over, you know?"

"That will be nice," Harry said, "to go somewhere new where no one really knows you. Well, assuming that Malfoy didn't get in and isn't attending."

_Bugger_, she thought. She had completely forgotten about that bit. She glared at him then. "Thanks for that reminder, _Harry_."

"Sorry," he offered with a smile.

"Wait, what's this about Malfoy?" George asked.

Hermione sighed as Ginny explained about Hermione's run-in at the school. He then proceeded to hold a smirk to his lips as he mulled over this new tidbit of news.

"Anyway," Hermione continued, "Like you said before Harry, it's a big school. I might not even run into him at all."

"Well, I want to do another toast," George offered and raised his glass. "May Hermione never run into that git while she attends school, assuming that the tosser got in."

"Hear, hear!" Harry and Ginny called out.

_Hear, hear indeed,_ Hermione thought as she clanked her glass a second time with a smile.

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><p><strong>AN: Reviews appreciated :)**


	5. Draco Encounters

**Author's Note: **Sorry I took a while to write another chapter. I'm kind of not happy about this but meh. You be the judge :)

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns it all. I only own this plot.

* * *

><p><p>

**Chapter 5: Draco Encounters**

_5:12 p.m., Friday, September 8, 2000, Hermione's Parisian Flat, Muggle Paris, France_

With a frustrated growl, Hermione tossed her book bag to the floor with exceeding force as soon as she arrived home. It had been a very long and trying day, but it wasn't due to her classes. Yes, her schedule was pretty hectic compared to any other first year's, but that was typical. Hermione felt she was up to the challenge and went ahead and registered for five classes.

No…

The cause of her long day (or week, rather) was summed up with one word. Nay, one name:

Draco Malfoy

Despite George's cheerful toast in regards to that blonde Neanderthal a week ago, it seemed as though the fates had decided to work against her. She had seen him everywhere it seemed, since the first day of school. And he seemed hell-bent on making her miserable. _Big school campus my arse_, she thought while fuming and looking for a bottle of wine in her kitchen cupboards.

* * *

><p><em>(flashback to the beginning of the week)<em>

_7:28 a.m., Monday, September 4, 2000, Wizarding University of Paris campus (MWF class, 8-9:30a)_

With a smile on her face, Hermione was practically skipping as she headed towards her first class, Academic Reading and Writing. She was so excited to get started and to meet her new classmates at WUP (her short-handed name for the school). Despite going to a university in Paris, all of her current classes had been available in English, for which she was grateful. Though she spoke a little French thanks to some extended family and her grand-mère, she doubted she would be able to keep pace in a classroom despite her quick uptake on things. Eventually, she knew she would have to take classes in French as she continued her educational tenure but for now, she was happy with what she had.

As she rounded the last corner towards the classroom door, she crashed into someone who was walking in the same direction and fell to the floor this time, her book bag getting knocked off her shoulder.

"Well, well, if it isn't Paris' newest residential book worm. Can't you ever see where you are going before walking into someone repeatedly?"

She froze mid-stand to the sound of that familiar drawl. She should have known. She sighed and closed her eyes briefly.

"Typical," she huffed as she snatched her book bag from the floor. "Leave it to you to be a git and not help me."

"Hey, I helped you the last time. That was a one-time deal, love."

She growled, "Don't call me love."

He snorted and rolled his eyes. "Didn't mean anything by it," he muttered and then called out, "Crazy witch," over his shoulder in a low tone.

Before she could answer him, he walked into the classroom and claimed the last seat at the front of the room while grinning triumphantly at her.

A few seconds later as she finished dusting off her trousers, she followed in while muttering to herself colourful expletives and sat in one of the seats at the back of the room. Her classmates glanced at her warily as they heard her and some began shifting their chairs away from her while trying to be discreet.

_Great_, she thought in irritation. _Now everyone in this class thinks I'm a damn lunatic._

* * *

><p><em>7:56 a.m., Tuesday, September 5, 2000, Historical Perspective of Ancient Runes (T-T h class, 8-9:30a) <em>

She had just sat at the desk table at the front of the classroom and was rummaging in her book bag for her trusty quill when suddenly she heard a thud on the table to her right and someone taking the seat next to her. When she looked over, she was greeted by Malfoy's challenging sneer and she frowned deeply in return before giving him a dirty look.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm sitting?" he answered with a question.

"No, what are you doing here? Sitting next to me?" she fumed.

"What do you care?"

"Can't you find another seat?"

"No. I'm rather comfortable here, thanks."

"Well, I don't want to sit next to your ferret ass. Move."

"Granger, Granger, aren't we a little too old for name-calling here? And furthermore, I will sit wherever I please. If it bothers you so much, why don't you take that seat at the back of the room?"

With a huff, Hermione yanked her quill out of her bag and gave him a glare while he gave her an amused expression. Some of their classmates had stopped their conversation to regard them with curiosity and Hermione decided to hold in her retort. She didn't want to make their interaction more public than it had been already. She then turned her face towards the front of the class while trying to ignore Malfoy's presence as the professor walked in.

* * *

><p><em>11: 43 a.m., Wednesday, September 6, 2000, First Year's Advanced Arithmancy (MWF class, 10:30a-12p)<em>

"…throughout this term project, you will need a partner. Please take this moment to say hello to the person on your left," the professor directed.

As Hermione turned, she found herself face-to-face with Malfoy who seemed to have been staring at her beforehand. He smirked back at her as she gasped in return. She had not seen him walk into the class nor had she noticed him throughout the lecture. Better yet, she had not seen him in that class on Monday when it had started. She then turned back towards the professor with a frown.

"Congratulations, you have just met your term partner," their professor said with a smile.

Hermione groaned inwardly while making a face of pain.

* * *

><p><em>2:14 p.m., Wednesday, September 6, 2000, Potions 101 (MWF class, 2-4p)<em>

"Okay, I'll go get the missing ingredient as you set up the cauldron," Hermione told her partner Charlotte as she got up from her stool. Her partner immediately began to start the fire under their cauldron and poured in water.

Their potion's professor was having them make Polyjuice potion to gauge everyone's level and Hermione was very pleased by this. She had been brewing Polyjuice for as long as she could remember so this exercise was definitely old hat for her.

She was very lucky with the partner she currently had. Charlotte seemed to be pretty knowledgeable when it came to the subject, so she knew that their work would be strong. Hermione was also very confident that she and her partner would finish the first part of the potion before the rest of their classmates. That thought made her smile.

As she got to the front of the classroom and stretched her hand out towards the last bag of a dozen lacewing flies on the professor's table, a white hand flashed in front of her and snatched it away. She frowned.

"Damn it, Malfoy," she gritted out. "Why are you up here? You already got these ingredients."

"No I didn't. I need these."

"You're so full of yourself. I saw you!"

"Really?" He then smirked. "Well, I didn't know you had it in you. Am I that good looking that you can't keep your eyes off me? Not that I blame you. I would stare at me too."

Hermione glared at him for a moment and then lifted her chin upwards as she began to walk towards the storage room that the professor had indicated for extra supplies without another word. She would not get sucked into a ridiculous banter with that man child. Seeing him in almost all of her classes was more than enough. With a small growl, she snatched the lacewing flies bag from one of the cupboards and made her way back to her table with a scowl set on her face. She then turned to look at Malfoy's table on her way to hers.

_Poor girl_, she thought as she cast a quick glance at Draco's partner. _She has no idea who she's dealing with_.

The girl Draco was working with, Marion Boyer, seemed to be completely oblivious to everyone but him, however. Instead, she seemed to be very pleased with having Draco as her partner, and even batted her eyelashes with her chin in her hand as he stirred the cauldron. He in turn ignored her completely and began to pour in the lacewing flies while trying to look completely absorbed in his work.

_Ugh! He's not even good looking_, Hermione thought in disgust as she chopped the leeches with vigor. Meanwhile, her partner was thankfully very busy with stirring to be paying her any mind and seemed oblivious to Hermione's bad mood.

* * *

><p><em>11:45 a.m., Thursday, September 7, 2000, Introduction to International Ministry Policy (T-Th class, 11a-1:30p)<em>

"It's very nice to meet you, mademoiselle Granger."

A very handsome French student with brown hair and bright hazel eyes took one of her hands and gave it a kiss. She blushed. Despite being in the class a second time, this was the first time she actually got to interact with her classmates for once. They had just been assigned into groups of four for their term project and this boy had decided to introduce himself as the group assembled.

"Please, call me Hermione. And it's very nice to meet you too, monsieur Chevalier."

"Michel, please," he requested.

"Okay…Michel," she said with a smile.

She then looked at her other group mates and introduced herself to them. Thankfully, that was the first class she had that was actually Draco-free for once.

_About bloody time_, she thought with a grin and focused on the discussion in which her classmates were currently engaged.

However, as soon as she exited the classroom, she saw Malfoy swaggering down the hall, and he gave her a lazy salute when he saw her.

* * *

><p><em>4:30 p.m., Friday, September 8, 2000, Wizarding University of Paris library, back tables<em>

"Merlin's saggy pants, Granger. Are you stalking me?"

At her name being called, she whipped her head up from the book she was reading with a loud gasp and a jolt.

"What? NO! _I_ was here first."

"No you weren't. I was sitting by that table first when you decided to walk in here like you owned the place." He then proceeded to sit in a chair by her table, propping his long legs up on the table and crossing them while folding his hands in his lap.

With a sigh, she turned back to her book, ignoring his presence, and tried to reread the last paragraph she was trying to memorize. However, after a few minutes, she began to feel uncomfortable as she felt Draco staring at her. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and she lowered her book to look back at him.

"May I help you?" she asked in an irritated tone.

"Well yes, you may. We were supposed to get started on our Arithmancy project two days ago but you keep bolting out of the classroom door before we can talk."

"Yes, well, I need to get to my next class right afterwards. So excuse me if I don't pause for a chat."

He snorted. "Your next class is during your lunch time? _Right_."

At his remark, Hermione's mouth dropped open. How did he even know her schedule? She recovered quickly and sent him a glare.

"For your information, I have nothing to say to you," she snapped. "And you have a copy of the instructions so you don't really need me to start. Have at it."

She then returned back to her book and tried to ignore his presence again.

Draco took a deep breath and released it with a low frustrated growl, making Hermione look back at him. His gaze had turned down towards the table with a scowl.

"Still holding on to the past, are we?"

"What?"

He turned his angry grey eyes at her. "Damn it, Granger, just get over yourself."

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked in frustration.

"Don't play dumb. It doesn't suit you. But if you must have everything explained, here's what I'm talking about: Hogwarts is over, our house rivalry is over, the war is over and my family's name has been tried, judged and dragged out through the mud. What else do you want from me? A written apology?"

At his speech, she shut her book with a loud snap and glared back.

"This has nothing to do with your past and everything to do with you being a current arrogant pompous arse!"

"Oh yeah?" He stood up from the chair and glared down at her.

"Yes!" she yelled back as she stood up to face him. At her outburst, the librarian that was sitting at the front desk gave them a dirty look and shushed them. Her reaction caused them to turn their sights toward the librarian. When they looked back at each other, both of them realized then that they were standing too close and took a step back, holding their scowls in place.

"Now pray tell," he asked in a harsh low tone,"What have I been doing that's been so 'arrogantly pompous'?"

_Didn't even deny he's an arse,_ she thought bitterly. "Well, for starters, how about the way you've been aggravating me ever since this school term has started? I mean, do you really need to be present everywhere I go and bother me? And yes, maybe I am a little wary of you because of the past. Why are you surprised or offended? You've always been condescending and rude to me, so-"

"Fucking fantastic," he cut in. "Now listen here-"

"No, _you_ listen! I don't know what your problem is-"

"-not your damn potty and weasel-"

"-why you're in my classes! And how_ dare_ you mention Harry and-"

"-called _electives,_ Granger! Surely, you read your-"

_"Will you two please be quiet?"_

Suddenly, both snapped their eyes towards the librarian that was now standing in front of them with her hands on her hips, glaring at both of them.

"This is a university library, young man and young lady. People in here are trying to study and need complete silence. If you want to continue this conversation, please make sure you conduct it elsewhere. For now, please remove yourselves from the premises."

"Yes ma'am," Hermione muttered and proceeded to collect her things while ignoring Malfoy. When she finished, she muttered, "Apologies, Madame," and walked out without another glance or word. The librarian seemed to keep her glare locked on her in order to make sure she left.

"Well, that was fun," she heard Malfoy call out behind her. She paused and turned slowly to give him a dirty look.

"Fun? Fun? You just cost me my study table!" she yelled.

"Oh relax, will you?" he said as he rolled his eyes at her. "You're not completely banned from the library; just kicked out for the day. Besides, it's the first week of classes. What kind of studying do you need to be doing anyway?"

"None of your _bloody_ business," she quipped and then proceeded to walk away again.

He quickly fell in step with her and said, "Such language, Granger. I'm impressed. Anyway, as I was saying before you decided to yell at me like a banshee, we need to discuss our Arithmancy project."

She paused again and looked at him with a frown. "Malfoy, I really don't want to talk to you right now."

"Why not? We have to talk-"

"Can't you get a hint-"

"-just tell me what I-"

"You know what?" she said while cutting him off again and waving her hands in front of her. "Why don't you work on it yourself and then consult me when you hit a snag?"

"That's not teamwork," he refuted with a smirk.

With a loud groan, she walked faster towards the closest apparition point she could find and left before he could follow or say anything else.

* * *

><p><em>(Back to current time)<em>

She poured herself a full glass of wine and swallowed it in one big gulp. Then, without another thought, proceeded to pour herself another.

_Why is he even torturing me?_ she thought in melancholy. _Wasn't Hogwarts and the war enough?_

After not seeing him in years, it felt like revenge that she was now getting her heavy dose of 'Malfoy poison'. She practically saw him every day! She groaned loudly again and drank more wine.

There are so many other girls that seem to be more than happy to get his attention at the moment. So why was he even giving it to her? It was unwanted really.

In all their shared classes, she had seen that despite his being a Malfoy (or his past history that they were sure to know or had heard about), the girls at WUP were still swooning left and right. The most bold so far was that girl from their potions class, Marion. She had gone as far as giggling at everything he said though the majority wasn't even funny, while batting her eyelashes like crazy. And then today, she even followed him out the class door to ask for his help to put things away in her book bag. Though Hermione read in his face what he really wanted to say in that situation, he complied to the girl's request. He held a frown and didn't say a word to the girl throughout the exchange, however.

She shook her head. Why on earth were those girls even chasing after him? He was such an unpleasant human being. Well ok, yes, he might be physically attractive. Hermione wasn't blind. Even she had to admit it to herself. But despite his decent physique, his baby soft looking blonde hair, and his stunning grey eyes, the guy was every inch a prat. His attitude alone made his physical attributes diminish in her eyes. In fact, she couldn't help but be disgusted by his behavior first and foremost. Not to mention their history and many confrontations.

_This is like Hogwarts all over again_, she thought grimly. Before the threat of the war or Draco's mission, she remembered how even the girls in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw would giggle when they saw him walking down the school's hallways, or would approach his table in the Great Hall. Despite their efforts to attract him, he in turn would then make fun of them with his Slytherin friends mercilessly to make them distraught. Regardless, that didn't stop the girls from trying again. In a way, it was like the girls were moths attracted to fire. It was ridiculous.

But now that he was here in Paris in a new school, and despite the attention he was already getting, he seemed keen on being an aggravation and finding her everywhere. It almost seemed like he had placed a tracking charm on her or something.

"And this was supposed to be a big campus," she muttered to herself and sighed.

After another glass of wine, she proceeded to crack open the book she was trying to study before Malfoy's interruption in the library.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Reviews appreciated :)**


	6. Kickin' With You

**Author's Note: **Sorry I took me a while to write another chapter. I got a bit side-tracked with Thanksgiving and whatnot. But, here it is. New chapter and it has Draco's POV (woo!). And as for the title, it really doesn't have much to do with the chapter. It's the title of a song by Jason Mraz. I was listening to it as I was writing the first part of it. Anywho, I hope you all like it. :)

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns it all. I only own this plot.

* * *

><p><p>

**Chapter 6: Kickin' With You**

_(One month later)_

_1:28 p.m., Thursday, October 5, 2000, Wizarding University of Paris, school hallways_

As Draco walked out of his last class of the day, he tried to quicken his steps. Granger would be leaving her class soon and he didn't want to miss seeing her. He was just glad that the professor decided to end his lecture ten minutes earlier than usual.

Despite him not having another class after his 11:00 a.m., he had picked up the habit of walking through the hallway that was by Hermione's instead of walking through the halls that would take him to an Apparation point or the library. He just had to see her before his Tuesdays and Thursdays were over. Or see if she would head to the library so he could head over himself.

And no, he wasn't being a stalker. He had every right to head to the library or to walk down that hallway. Besides, he just wanted to make sure she got to places safely. Yes, her safety was his priority.

It had been a month now since they had been in school and so far it had proven to be a challenge. Well, on both academics and his progress with Granger.

By nothing short of a miracle, he was able to get himself enrolled at the last minute in the majority of the classes for which Hermione had registered. He had decided beforehand that it would be best for him to 'crash' classes the day school started instead of choosing them in advance. So after each class that first week in which he had spotted Granger, he went out of his way to speak with each professor so that he could get into their classes. With a bit of charm and begging, the professors had relented and added him to their class rosters. Luckily for him, the majority of the classes she was taking were ones he considered taking himself, so he was very glad to be accepted into them.

The only class he wouldn't register for was the policy course she currently was in, mostly because it had nothing to do with his area of study. Instead, he signed up for a Galleon Finance course that would help refine his investing skills, especially since he kept losing his family's galleons in ridiculous amounts when he was least expecting. While managing the business, he hated to admit that he would sometimes do things blindly since his father's associates wouldn't help or advise him in the least. It seemed like they wanted to see him fail, so they could try to vote him out and take over. That thought alone had infuriated him many times and was one of his many reasons for going to Paris while his mother supervised on his behalf. He would make damn sure to get himself accessorized in that area, even if the class he was taking at the moment was a beginner's course. _Baby steps_, he would say to himself. One step at a time is what he needed for assured success.

At times, however, he would regret signing up for so many classes. Five was definitely a lot for his first term but he knew he could do it. School was something he excelled in when he had the proper motivation, and he did have it. His current logic was that if _she _could handle it, so could he. And so he kept on without complaints (at least without publicly complaining or swearing at any rate) and worked very hard to get his assignments finished on time.

Well, all with the exception of one class, Arithmancy. He was definitely struggling with it due to the course project, but that was beyond his control.

Speaking of his Arithmancy project, he had to start it alone after all. Granger had not made the effort to try to work with him in the least despite making himself available. Sadly, he was getting very frustrated by it, but he wouldn't cave or beg for her help. He was too proud to stoop. Instead, he would head to the library when she was there, work two tables away and hope that she would approach him first.

She hadn't done so yet, though at times it seemed that she was getting frustrated. Nevertheless, she still stubbornly refused and seemed to ignore him though she knew he was there, waiting for her to arrive. Though funnily enough, when they were in class and their professor would have them do their project work during their class time, Granger would try to be a team player. Mostly, he knew that she did so in order to appease their professor. And so in retaliation, he would smirk at her little show and wouldn't make himself helpful or amiable, which would anger her endlessly. He could tell without her vocalizing it. _That bint can sow her own oats_, he would think smugly. She hadn't made the effort so far, so why should their class time be any different?

And that brings him to his second challenge in his college tenure: Granger.

As far as their interaction went, well, it wasn't really going according to his plans. Their interaction during their Arithmancy project was just the tip of their socializing iceberg.

Despite his attempts to be civil, he would resort to being a prat when she would act bewildered by his modified behaviour. Though, he had to admit, sporadically she had surprised him when she seemed to call a temporary truce between them and even tried to hold a decent conversation with him.

But then he would go ahead and stick his foot in his mouth and they would go back to square one.

A perfect example was that morning, while they were in their Ancient Runes class working on an assignment:

_"Malfoy, can you please share with me the last part of your notes from Tuesday? I seemed to have forgotten mine at my flat and I need them for this problem we are working on."_

_"Huh. Serves you right."_

_"What?"_

_"You're such a Muggle-born. Can't even remember to cast a Geminio on your papers so you can have backups."_

_"What -I…well, why can't you just cast it right now on your papers instead of giving me the third degree?"_

_"Third degree? What the hell is that?"_

_She sighed. "Never mind. Are you going to help me or not?"_

_"Hmm…well, what will you do for me in return?"_

_She scoffed, "Are you serious?"_

_He smirked and pointed to himself. "Slytherin. I was thinking you can do something along the lines of house-elf work…"_

_"But-"_

_"Or maybe you can massage my feet."_

_"Ugh. You know what? Forget I asked."_

_"Now, wait a sec-"_

_"Forget it!"_

She then proceeded to ignore him throughout the rest of their class period despite his attempt to sneak in the notes she had requested. But to his dismay, she had flicked her wand discreetly and incinerated his papers. Now he had no notes himself because he hadn't done what he had teased. Bugger.

Though the progress he had made with her was minimal at best, it was better than nothing. He was still trying to figure out how to ask her out on a date without making it seem like a date. But he had a feeling that it would be a while before they got to that point. Instead, he focused his energies on his school work for the time being while trying to make himself ever present around her, much to her annoyance. He hadn't even gone out to explore wizarding Paris leisurely and he lived in the middle of the bloody city!

On top of everything, it didn't help that he was getting pursued by other females whom he could care less about. Especially that partner he had in Potions, Maria. Or was it Mary Ann? Well, whatever her name was, she was infuriating him but in a different way. Much to his dismay, she seemed to have staked a claim on him because she would pop up when he least expected her, though luckily she hadn't approached him at all today. In a way, she was like him in his chasing after Hermione.

Draco wasn't oblivious, however. He had been pursued by women since he was fourteen, so this was nothing new. He knew the reason she kept at it; she wanted to get a date which he knew he would never willingly give.

It was the same routine. They would try to flirt with him endlessly in the hopes of baiting his interest, try to get a shag out of him and then cling to him with the idea that he would sooner or later propose matrimony. All for the sake of being the next Mrs. Draco Malfoy.

Ok, maybe he was being a tad too dramatic. Maybe this girl really did like him but…he just wasn't interested. And he didn't want to be that guy he used to be in Hogwarts.

Call him boring or vanilla but he seemed to have grown a conscience. If he wanted a shag, it would be with the woman he would be attached to exclusively. It just didn't feel right to give a girl false hopes or to use her for sex, even though she may be willing. A one night stand didn't really ring up his alley anymore, much to the amusement of his old friends.

They would tease him relentlessly about his lack of sexual endeavors or escapades after the war, especially Blaise. He had lost count of how many times that man had tried to arrange things for him, much to Draco's chagrin.

And of all of those times he had turned him down flat while stubbornly holding to his guns. He'd rather wank himself raw than run the risk of getting a sexually contracted disease or getting his primal needs taken care of by some nameless witch. No matter how many spells were out there to prevent such a thing or willing witches he came across, he wouldn't cave. He just didn't want to be that kind of an asshole anymore.

That had to be Granger's influence on him because what hot-blooded male passed up a willing shag? Or in his case, multiple willing shags? Apparently, Draco did, and all for the sake of a person who apparently didn't desire him in the least.

The irony of the situation was never lost on him. He chuckled to himself at this thought repeatedly.

As he rounded the hallway, he was stopped suddenly by the scene that was unfolding before his eyes. Granger had just walked out of her class and was walking next to that French bloke who was staring at her with puppy eyes as she spoke. He narrowed his eyes at them and saw red. He had notice that this prat had seemed to have picked an interest in her but this was the first time he had seen him act more boldly. He then resumed walking down the hall again briskly.

There was no way in Hades that this French guy was going to get any closer to Granger. Fucking hell.

* * *

><p>As Hermione walked out the classroom, Michel proceeded to walk her out the door while they discussed their project and made small talk. Michel was the sweetest and nicest guy she had met so far at WUP. Though their group in general was a nice one, she rather enjoyed his company the most. He seemed to be very sincere, open and honest-something that she knew was very rare in the opposite sex. She should know. Having two males as her best friends had given her much experience in a male's emotional function and expressions; they hardly wore them on their sleeves. But Michel was different. He was also very witty and smart. Indeed, he was the opposite of Ron and it was quite refreshing. And from what she gathered, he seemed to really like her a lot.<p>

Why? She had no idea. In her opinion, she was such a plain Jane in comparison to him. The man was ruddy attractive and she noticed that he also had a little fan club. But that didn't seem to matter since he seemed to really like her for her. Needless to say, it gave Hermione a bit of an ego boost that she could be considered desirable by a guy like him.

As she said her goodbyes and started to head towards the library, she heard him call out to her.

"Erm…Hermione?"

"Yes?" she answered while turning back with a smile.

Michel rubbed the back of his neck while looking a bit flustered. It was endearing.

"I uh… I know we're just getting to know each other but umm…would you like to…meet…for coff-"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Malfoy appeared and bumped into Michel hard, causing the poor man to lose his balance and almost drop his notebook.

"Oh, sorry mate," he called out with a small smile tugging his lips. "Didn't see you there."

Hermione scowled. She knew he had done that on purpose.

"No problem," Michel replied with a smile and then turned back to Hermione.

"So…as I was saying, would-"

"Careful, Granger," Draco interrupted. "He seems to hold libidinous roots for you. It must be those Muggle-born ways of yours that have him so captivated."

At his remark, both Michel and Hermione blushed deeply. How dare he butt in his aristocratic nose where it didn't belong?

"Why are you here?" she ground out through clenched jaws.

'What?" he asked in feigned innocence.

"Don't play innocent. You're not even supposed to be on this side of the campus to begin with."

He smirked. "Ah. So you know my schedule then?"

"It's called being observant," she snapped.

"Is that what you call your peeping from a bush?"

She scoffed and replied sarcastically, "You caught me."

Throughout the whole exchange, Michel shifted his gaze between the two, confused.

"I'm sorry but…do you two know each other?" he inquired.

"Unfortunately, yes," Hermione grumbled.

"Tut tut, Granger. Manners matter," Draco reprimanded teasingly and then turned towards the young man while stretching out his hand. "Draco Malfoy," he announced.

"Ah, nice to meet you. Michel Chevalier," he answered as he shook Draco's hand. He then grunted. Malfoy had squeezed his hand a little too hard when he heard his name.

"Pleasure to meet you," Draco said with a smirk in place and still held the young man's hand in a firm grip. Hermione sighed at his actions.

After another second, Michel cleared his throat and awkwardly tried to remove his hand from Malfoy's grip. Finally, Malfoy relented and Michel proceeded to try to stretch his fingers to get some circulation back while Malfoy's smirk grew as he saw him move his fingers.

"So…" Michel began. "How do you and Hermione know each other?"

"School," Hermione replied.

"Hogwarts," Draco added.

"Ah Hogwarts! Yes, I remember briefly reading about your school in the papers. Very sad what happened a few years ago with the war and everything," he offered.

Draco sighed dramatically as he said, "Yes, it was sad times indeed. But alas, here we are. The good has triumphed and prevailed."

At his words, Michel's face blinked in recognition. "I'm sorry but…did you say your name is Draco Malfoy?"

"Yes," He then tilted his head. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing," Michel replied. "It's just that I remember you. Well, your family name, I should say. I also read everything that had happened during the Death Eater trials. Especially with your family," he finished.

Hermione face turned anxious at his mention of the papers while Draco's smirk slipped from his face into a glare and he approached the man. He didn't stop till they were face to face while Michel seemed to cower back a bit.

"Is that so?" Draco asked in a low voice. "Well, don't believe everything you read in the papers. Most of what's written is absolute rubbish."

"Oh, I didn't mean to offend-"

"Never mind what you meant. Just don't believe all that you've read. Or as our mutual acquaintance here would say: don't judge a book by its cover."

He then turned towards Hermione with a sneer. "See you around, Granger." He gave Michel a stiff nod, "Mr. Chevalier."

And then he proceeded to knock into Michel extra hard again before he walked down the hall, his shoe's heels echoing.

Michel looked at Draco's quickly retreating form with a bewildered look and then turned towards Hermione.

"Was it something I said?" he asked.

"No, that's just typical Malfoy. Always having to be a prat," Hermione replied while glaring at Draco's back that had nearly disappeared from sight.

"Hmm, interesting man," he said softly while looking intently at Hermione. Then he added, "He seems to feel very strongly about you." At his comment, Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Don't be silly. It's Malfoy. That man wouldn't give two figs for me based on my blood status alone."

Michel chuckled softly at her response but then said with a sad smile, "Yes well, his behaviour seems to hint otherwise. Anyway, I'll see you Tuesday. Have a pleasant weekend, Hermione."

And then Michel began to walk down the same hallway while Hermione just stared blankly at his form.

_Malfoy? Feel strongly about me? Right. And I'm the prime minister of England!_ she thought to herself as she walked towards the library with a frown.

She was so wrapped in her thoughts that as she rounded the hall's corner she gasped out loud when Malfoy spoke out: "What kind of name is Michel Chevalier?"

"Malfoy! Must you insist on giving me a heart attack?" she retorted as she saw him leaning against a wall, his legs and arms crossed.

He ignored her reprimand and continued, "Sounds like a ponce name to me. Don't you agree?"

"No, I don't. Michel is actually a very nice man unlike you. And furthermore, what kind of name is Draco anyway?" she then smirked at him when he glared back and continued to walk down the hall. He followed a moment later.

"Ouch, that almost hurt. But I'll take your word for it." He began walking next to her as he continued, "Let me guess: he's a gentleman, has tableside manners and appears genuine?" he scoffed. "The man's an actor."

"How would you know?" she snapped.

"Please. It's obvious that the man wants in your knickers, period."

At this comment, Hermione groaned softly and picked up the pace in order to get away. She did not need to hear his ridiculous reasoning. But to her dismay, he caught up with ease.

"What's the matter? Don't like me telling you the truth?"

"What truth? You just met Michel and you're making up all these wild conclusions!"

"Oh Granger, you're so naïve. It's endearing really," he quipped.

"Ha! That's rich. This coming from a man that's the stereotypical man-whore!"

At her last comment, Draco paused and stared. _Did she really just say that?_

"And how would you know that I'm a…what did you call me? Man-whore?" he demanded.

"Oh please, like you don't know? I know exactly what kind of man you were-are."

"Oh? And what kind of man am I? Enlighten me."

They both stopped in front of the library doors and Draco leaned on them in order to prompt her continue. She didn't disappoint.

"The type that likes to shag witches without a second regard, much like you're accusing Michel of being. So get over yourself!"

At her comment, Draco got upset. She knew nothing! He turned his steely grey eyes to hers and glared while getting off the doors.

"Of course, that's what you would think about me. Thank you for reminding me that you really don't know anything despite being the brightest witch of the age."

He then yanked a library door open and stalked towards the back tables, leaving Hermione a bit shell shocked before she walked in herself.

_Merlin, that was surprising_, she thought to herself. Maybe she was wrong about him.

_But I can't be_, she fumed. _I'm not deaf or blind! I know him, damn it!_

Hogwarts wasn't that big of a school and the rumours about him had spread like Fyendfire in the girls' dormitories. Whether she wanted to hear them or not, she knew about him and his reputation. So why was he acting offended? In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if he was shagging one of their current classmates.

But then, why was he so upset or why did he say she knew nothing? Why was he upset about her thoughts about him?

She continued with her internal dialogue as she settled herself without thinking one a table away from Draco and dug out her Arithmancy project with a sigh.

She had actually been struggling with it but didn't want to admit defeat yet. Whether she liked it or not, the project did require two people and despite her best attempts to finish it all, she knew she wouldn't be able to. Not without dividing the work.

She knew she was being childish when she had refused to work with Malfoy since that first week. But in her defense, she felt she had had enough of his presence every day. And so when this project required her to work in even closer proximity to him, needless to say it didn't really appeal to her. But she guessed she would have to make the sacrifice and bite the metaphorical bullet. Especially if she didn't want to fail the class or have their professor suspect at their lack of teamwork.

Besides, she had also noticed that during their library stays, Draco would have a similar troubled expression when he would work on it himself. Maybe this would be the day that she would finally extend the olive branch as a means of an apology and finally get their project done.

She looked over at Malfoy's table and saw him working on his school work with a scowl. From the looks of it, he seemed to still be stewing over their conversation. Bloody fantastic.

_Merlin help me_, she thought as she packed her things, got up, and walked over to his table slowly. She really didn't want to be the one to break first but she had no choice. Not after their last confrontation where she seemed to really offend him.

When she reached his table, he didn't look up from his work. Instead, his scowl seemed to have deepened.

Without even looking away from his work, he barked, "What do you want?"

After hesitating for a second, she finally said, "I'm sorry."

At her response, his eyes looked up but said nothing. She gritted her teeth at his reaction but continued.

"I shouldn't have made presumptions about you without knowing facts."

He scoffed and looked back down, "Whatever."

At his response, she glared at him then and yanked a chair from his table and sat down. He looked over at her again with a bit of surprise.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm sitting?" she answered sarcastically.

"Yeah, but your table is over there," and he jerked a thumb towards her table.

"Well, I just figured that if we want to work on our class project together that we should probably work in the same space."

At her remark, he raised an eyebrow.

"Huh."

She rolled her eyes at him and then started to pull out her work. She looked at him when she settled.

"So…how far are you on it anyway?"

"Ah. So you're finally going to cave," he said with a smirk. "Took you long enough."

She frowned at his response. "You know, I'm really trying to make an effort here. But if you're going to continue to be a git, I guess I'll leave you to it."

She then slammed her books and got up from the chair. Before she could leave, he shot out a hand and grabbed one of her elbows.

"Alright, alright that comment wasn't necessary. Stay." When she crossed her arms and huffed, he continued, "Stay. Please. You're right. We really need to get this project done. Let me get my notes out."

He then made to dig out his work while Hermione continued to glare at him while pursing her lips. She guessed that that was the closest she would get out of him as an apology. And he did say please.

With a sigh, she sat back down and reopened her books.

He looked over at her while she settled back down and with a small smile, he proceeded to go over what he had worked on.

_Finally, progress_, he thought happily as they began to work together.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Reviews appreciated :)**


	7. Unlikely Partnership

**Author's Note: **So I am VERY sorry that I delayed in delivering a new chapter. I actually struggled a bit but I think it turned out ok. You decide. And I apologize in advance by the amount of profanity but I think it made the story interesting and funny. Anyway, enjoy! :)

Oh, and I made some editing/changes on the first six chapters. I had a beta (many thanks to catcachoo on H&V) go through them so there are some minor changes. Nothing big but I just wanted to let you know in case they looked and read a bit different.

And for those of you following up on Unexpected Attraction, I will be updating it tomorrow! *gasp!* Almost done editing Chapter 3. :)

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns it all. I only own this plot.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Unlikely Partnership<strong>

_(Three weeks later)_

_6:10 p.m., Friday, October 27, 2000, Wizarding University of Paris library, back tables _

"Granger, I know that I'm right! Why can't you fucking accept that you're wrong for once?" he hissed.

"I am_ not_ wrong! You just miswrote your notes. I remember perfectly that our professor wanted us to work through this section. See? I have notes saying that we do need to do this. "

"Is that right? Then why did I circle this part of my notes saying that we don't yet? For my own bloody enjoyment?"

"I don't know. They are your notes. How am I supposed to know your note-taking habits?"

He groaned lowly as he ran a hand through his hair. This argument was getting them nowhere and they really needed to work on other sections of their project before the night was over.

Though he had to admit, however, that their interaction had improved drastically within the last couple of weeks compared to that first week. They had hardly been able to sit still for longer than five minutes before almost killing each other. But now, they seemed to tolerate one another though they still argued. Like right now.

He took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"Okay, Granger. Let's make a bet."

She huffed. "Why should I? I know you're wrong."

"Amuse me."

When she didn't say anything, he continued.

"Here's what we are going to do. If I'm wrong, though I know I'm not, I promise you that I will not fight with you on this project anymore. I will make the extra effort to follow your lead without any further complaints or contradictions until we finish."

"And if I'm wrong?" she asked with a smirk. There was no way she could have misheard their professor. She sat in the first row for Merlin's sake!

"If you're wrong…then you will let me choose the venue of where we meet from now on."

She frowned at this. "What's wrong with where we are studying now?" She thought she had been sensible with choosing the library. Any future reference or resource would be available right at their fingertips.

He snorted. "Let's just say that being within the same four walls these last couple of days has gotten old."

She pursed her lips at his comment as he held out his hand for her to shake.

"So, do we have a bet?"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't know why you are even doing this. I know you're wrong."

"Well, if I'm wrong, then you shouldn't be hesitating to shake my hand."

When she still didn't move, he smirked.

"What's the matter? Are you second guessing yourself?"

"_No._ I just don't think it's fair for me to win so easily."

"Oh, you won't. Now, do we have a deal?"

She smirked in return and shook his hand.

"Get ready to lose," she sang as she released his hand.

"Right," he muttered to himself, and shuffled through his notes for the next section of work. He then turned his attention back to her.

"Now that that's settled, let's get started on this section that we do need to wrap up."

"Fine," she muttered, "but if we end up getting zeros because we missed that section, I will hex your face off."

"Duly noted," he replied in a bored tone. "Now, if you're done with your threats, let's-"

"Draco!"

Both turned their heads to the voice that had called for him and Hermione's smirk reappeared as Draco's face fell into a frown at the person approaching.

"Oh look, it's your Potions partner," Hermione teased.

He glared at her. "So?"

"Sooo, I think she wants to talk to you. Again."

"For fuck's sake," he muttered under his breath as Marion appeared at their table, oblivious to his sour mood.

"Hi Draco, Hermione," she chirped happily. "Hermione, I'm sorry to interrupt but can I speak with Draco for a minute?"

"Sure. I have to head to the toilet anyway," she said as she got up. But before she left, she gave him a meaningful look that seemed to convey _'be nice'_ before smiling at Marion and walking away.

G_reat_, Draco groaned to himself as Marion took a seat. _Now what does she want?_

As if on cue, Marion spoke, her eyes staying focused on her hands.

"Draco, I'm sorry to interrupt but-well, I forgot to ask you something the last time we were speaking."

Draco stared at her, not answering. A sense of dread fell over him. He knew what was coming next, and he had hoped that he had discouraged her enough. But apparently, he hadn't.

_She's so bloody persistent_, he thought in irritation.

When neither spoke for a minute, he cleared his throat.

"Well, go on then," he replied brusquely. "What's your question?"

"Well, I understand if you say no but…I was wondering…well, more like hoping-"

"Yes?" he asked in irritation.

"Doyouwantogooutforcoffee?"

_Huh?_

"What?"

She blushed deeply then and slowly met his eyes with a look so earnest and hopeful that it made Draco cringe inside.

"I asked if you want to go out for coffee."

He sighed softly. He had tried in many different but nice ways (at least nice for him) these last couple of weeks to make her lose interest, but she was relentless it seemed. Or oblivious- he couldn't decide. He really did not want to be in this position and now he would have to be more blunt than before.

"Listen, Marion, you're a nice girl and all but…I don't think that's a good idea."

Her face crumpled then as she turned her eyes back to her hands.

"Oh."

"Yeah, sorry. I just don't want you to get your hopes up."

"But…why?" she asked as she looked back up at him. "Are you seeing someone?"

"No…" he replied slowly.

"Is it me?" she asked sadly.

"Well-," he started, then stopped. _This is so awkward_, he thought to himself. _How the hell am I getting out of this? _

"It's just that…I don't want our relationship in class to get weird," he replied carefully.

At this reply, she broke into a smile and he sighed internally. She still didn't get it.

"Draco, that's not going to happen," she said with a light tone. "Why should it?"

"Because I know me," he replied. "I'm not great with building relationships. And you're a nice girl. You deserve someone that can really fully appreciate you."

"I don't think you're that bad," she chirped. "You're stubborn and strong willed. But not devoid of the ability to build a relationship."

_Want to bet?_

"Yes, I am," he replied. "And like I said, I don't think it's a great idea."

"But," she started, "it's just coffee. You don't know how we'll react to each other. It may surprise you."

"No Marion," he sighed, "I don't think so. I don't want to be blunt but...I'm just not interested."

"…Oh."

"Yeah..."

They sat in awkward silence for a few more seconds before Marion cleared her throat and stood while trying to look anywhere other than at him.

"Right. Well, I did say you could say no, so…have a great weekend and see you next week. Bye."

She then turned and walked out of the library as fast as she could. Draco stared after her while releasing a deep sigh. He really did not want to be mean, but he didn't know any other way to turn her down.

Shaking his head, he tried to focus back on the project in front of him. But before he could, Hermione plopped down on the vacated chair loudly, making him look at her. She had a frown.

_Bugger_, he thought.

"Malfoy, why is Marion upset?"

"What do you care?"

"I just saw her as I exited the loo, but she wouldn't say anything to me."

_Great, now _she's _going to pester me._

"No idea," he replied, and then turned back to their paperwork. But to his dismay, Hermione snatched it away, causing him to frown and look back at her.

"What exactly did you say to her?"

"Not that it's _any_ of your business; we just came to an understanding. Albeit more harshly for her, but an understanding nonetheless."

She scowled. "Did you have to be an arse?"

"What? I finally made her see reason, since she didn't want to pick up on my hints. End of story."

"She just wants to get to know you. Why's that so bad?"

_Because I want to know you better._

"Just drop it," he growled, snatching the paperwork back from her hands.

"But-"

"Drop it, Granger," he snapped.

"Fine," she muttered as she pulled her chair away from him.

As they settled, he realized something.

"Wait a second. Did you tell her to ask me out?"

Hermione blushed slightly, but lifted her chin up defiantly. "I did no such thing."

He barked a laugh, tossing his quill down. "Unbelievable. You always have to meddle, don't you? Even when it's none of your fucking business."

Hermione sat straighter and repeated in a hiss, "I did no such thing!"

He gave her a skeptical look then, locking his eyes on hers while she glared back, daring one another to break first. To Draco's glee, she cracked first and blinked. She sighed and replied, "Well, okay fine! She asked me for advice the other day and I just told her that if she really likes you, then she should try to get to know you one on one. But I also warned her that you're a prat."

At this, his eyes widened with incredulity.

"Merlin, Granger! I can get myself my own fucking dates, thank you!" he roared.

A few shushing sounds erupted from their peers around their table, and they sent him dirty looks. He paid them no mind as he glared at Hermione.

"Will you keep it down? _God_!" Hermione hissed. "I never said that you couldn't!" she snapped. "And can you please stop saying fuck with every other word that comes out of your mouth?"

"Why? Does it fucking bother you?"

"Yes."

"Well, fuck…"

"Malfoy, stop it. Let's get back on track-"

"Fuck."

"Malfoy-"

"Fuck."

"I'm going to leave," she threatened.

"Fuck…fuck…fuck…"

"Ok, that's it."

"Fuck-hey, where are you going?"

She stood quickly, snatching up her work as she pulled her book bag over her left shoulder.

"I'm going to finish my part of this assignment. _You_ can continue fucking yourself to death."

With that, she turned on her heel and walked out of the library.

"Fuck!" he hissed, and scrambled to pack up his things quickly to chase after her.

As he walked out of the library door, he saw her heading towards an Apparition point.

"Granger!" he bellowed as he walked faster with longer strides.

Before she could Apparate, he grabbed a hold of one of her elbows, throwing her off balance. "Granger, wait."

"What?" she growled in annoyance while yanking her elbow out of his grasp.

"In case you've forgotten, we need to finish that section of our project together."

"No, I haven't. But I didn't want to deal with your immature self anymore, thereby making my leaving justified."

He scoffed. "What's the big deal? Fuck is just a word."

"Yes, one I don't fancy hearing frequently. Or saying, for that matter. So excuse me for removing myself while you kept at it."

She turned away, but he grabbed her elbow again, softly this time. She glared at him expectantly. He sighed.

"Ok! Alright! Fine, I promise to behave myself. Tonight, at least. Happy?"

When she scoffed and crossed her arms, he continued.

"Now, can we try to finish our work?"

She stared hard at him for a few moments. Did she really want to brave his behavior again when she had just reached her daily quota?

_You know you have to_, she said to herself.

She groaned to herself and said, "Fine. But I'm holding you to your promise. Please try to hold a modicum of verbal decorum."

"Yes yes," he said hastily, "ok, let's go."

As they walked back towards the library, Draco's stomach growled a bit loudly, earning a small chuckle from Hermione.

"Have you had any dinner?" she asked.

He grimaced, "No."

"Well, I have a granola bar if you want it," she offered.

He smirked. "How about we eat and work at the campus cafeteria? A granola bar isn't going to be enough for me."

She hesitated a bit. "But…what if we need a quick reference?"

He rolled his eyes at her.

"Granger, we haven't needed a reference yet. I'm sure tonight will be no different. Now, stop dragging this out."

And he began to walk in the opposite direction of the library, disregarding the fact that she had yet to agree.

With a sigh, she followed after him.

* * *

><p><em>9:32 p.m., Friday, October 27, 2000, Hermione's Parisian Flat, Muggle Paris, France<em>

Hermione stepped out of the Floo with a deep sigh while rubbing the back of her neck.

Finally, after bickering on what theory worked best while munching on ham and cheese baguettes, they finished their work for the night.

She still had doubts about glancing over that section that Malfoy had argued as extra, but she decided to forget about that tonight and worry about it tomorrow.

Besides, she liked to work ahead anyway, so she decided to give it a read through before the weekend was over.

As she walked out of the fireplace and towards her kitchen, she stopped.

Ginny was sitting on one of her dining chairs, twisting her hands on her lap nervously as she saw Hermione emerge.

"Ginny?" she asked in surprise. "What are you doing here at this hour? What's wrong?"

"Well," she answered while cringing slightly, "nothing's really wrong per se. I'm sorry, Hermione. I tried to stop him from coming here with me, but he grabbed a hold of me as I left."

"What? What are you on about?"

Ginny shifted her gaze slowly so that she was looking behind Hermione, and Hermione turned to see who it was. She gasped.

"Hi 'Mione," he breathed.

_"Ron?" _

* * *

><p><strong>AN: As always, reviews appreciated :D**


	8. Ron and Twenty Questions

**Author's Note: **First and foremost, I want to thank everyone that has taken the time to read this story and reviewed it! It means alot so thank you! *many hearts to you all!* I hope you enjoy this next chapter. I had a fun writing it though I am still not sure about the ending. Anywho, I hope you enjoy it! :)

Oh, before I forget, I want to let you all know that this story as well as "Unexpected Attraction" will be going slow on the updates. The reason? I am trying to study for the GRE test and apply for grad school. So, I apologize in advance for the delay. It's been a bit hectic these last couple of weeks but I am hoping that the craziness will end by March. After that month, things should pick up to regular speed again. Promise. :)

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns it all. I only own this plot.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8-Ron and Twenty Questions<strong>

"Ron?"

"Yes, Hermione. It's me…"

Hermione stared back in shock as Ron slowly approached her with a hopeful look on his face.

Ginny then stood up from her chair quickly and approached the pair; she grabbed Ron's arm, pulling him back, looking uncomfortable.

"See, I told you that you shouldn't have followed me," she reprimanded. She turned to Hermione. "I am so sorry about this. We'll be going now." She tugged on Ron's arm with force and steered him towards the fireplace, but he pulled back easily.

"No, wait, wait! Hermione, hear me out. Just give me a few seconds. Please."

She stared at Ron for a bit while giving him a pensive look. _Do I really want to hear him out?_

With a sigh and a final decision made, Hermione turned to Ginny.

"No it's ok, Ginny. It's not your fault. We need to talk anyway."

Ginny glanced at them with an unsure look for a few seconds before she sighed and nodded.

"Alright, I'll be right over there if you need me." She then proceeded towards the living room area, taking a seat on the couch.

While Ginny settled herself, Hermione turned to Ron and took in his appearance. He looked exactly as she remembered: tousled red hair, bright blue eyes, and dressed in relaxed casual wear, which consisted of jeans and a T-shirt. However, he looked as if he had lost some weight and was a bit pale.

They both stood in silence, taking in each other's appearance for a few more seconds before Hermione cleared her throat and said, "This way," and led the way towards her bedroom.

Once inside, Hermione closed the door with a soft click and casted a quick Silencing Charm. She headed towards her bed, perching herself on it and folded her hands on her lap while avoiding Ron's stare. Ron remained standing.

"So…" she began, "how've you-"

"I'm sorry," he cut in.

Hermione lifted her gaze towards Ron, who ran a hand through his hair in agitation. She didn't respond, however, waiting for him to continue. After a few more seconds of silence, he did so, everything spilling out like a flood breaking a dam.

"Hermione, I…I've been a complete idiot. I really am sorry for the way I ended things. I was immature, insensitive, and stupid. I shouldn't have let things get bad. I've missed you _so_ much. I didn't know what else to do since you kept ignoring my Owls and were never at The Burrow when I visit, so I am sorry for barging in like this. I just need you to hear me out."

Hermione's eyes softened slightly at his confession.

"Ron, I…you really hurt me with your lack of support."

"I know…"

"And the way you shut me out when you disagreed with me. That bothered me the most. You broke my trust in you."

"Yes, I know. You had every right to be upset."

"We aren't children anymore," she continued, "you were supposed be my supportive best friend, especially after everything we've been through-"

"I know, I know! I've screwed up completely," he called out in exasperation while thrusting his hands up in the air, "and I've been paying for it every day. I am very sorry, more than I can say."

After a few more seconds of silence, Hermione took a deep breath before she began again and met his eyes once more.

"As much as I appreciate the gesture, we can't go back to what we were," she said in a soft voice.

At this, Ron's face fell slightly, and he shook his head in resignation.

"I know," he sighed, "but can we at least try to be friends again?"

Hermione bit her lower lip at this. If she was being honest with herself, she missed him. He had been her best friend since she was twelve. But she also didn't want to build up his hopes that maybe one day they could go back to what they had been. She no longer felt those romantic feelings, but she still cared for him. In spite of everything that had happened, he was still her friend.

"Of course," she agreed. "But give me time."

He stared at her for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"I've missed you," he admitted again.

"Yes, you've said that," she said with a small smile.

"Well, it's the truth. It hasn't been the same without you bossing me around when I don't study as hard for my Auror training exams," he teased.

She rolled her eyes then.

"That's flattering. You certainly know how to compliment a girl-instead of missing my enjoyable company, you've mostly missed my nagging."

"Well…that's not all I've missed," he confessed. His eyes then smoldered at her, and she looked away blushing as she clearing her throat. She suddenly felt uncomfortable and pretended to look at the clock by her bedside.

"It's getting late," she began, "so, if you don't mind…"

"Oh. Yeah, of course."

He made his way towards the door, Hermione following close behind him. But before he opened it, he turned back around and wrapped her in his arms. She was taken aback by his abrupt gesture and hesitantly circled her arms around him. When he still didn't release her, she rested her head on his chest.

After a few more moments and a deep sigh, he finally released her while grinning like a fool.

"Can I meet you for lunch sometime?" he asked.

She gave him a small smile in return and replied, "Sure. But please owl me first. These last couple of weeks have been hectic."

"Ah yes, school," he said with a lopsided grin. "You have much to tell me on that front."

"And I will," she promised.

With a small nod of his head, he finally opened the door and walked out to meet an anxious Ginny in the living room. As soon as she spotted them, she stood up from the couch. Hermione offered her a small smile in reassurance.

"So…is everything ok?" she asked timidly.

"Not yet," Hermione replied while turning her gaze towards Ron, "but it will be."

* * *

><p><em>6:58 a.m.,<em> _Saturday, October 28, 2000, Draco's Parisian flat, wizarding Paris, France _

A loud, repeated tapping sound was what finally woke Draco up, much to his irritation. He had been having a fantastic dream, where he was about to make the winning grab of the Snitch, when his eyes snapped open at the last second.

"Good morning, sunshine," came an amused tone to his left.

Groggily, he turned his head and saw that Blaise Zabini was sitting by his work desk, his finger nails tapping on the desk, an amused smile tugging on his lips.

"The fuck, Blaise? Ever heard of Owling beforehand?"

"Oh my! You're still the lovely morning person you've always been," he said with a chuckle. "And I have been Owling you, you sodding jerk. But you never answer them, so here I am."

He stood from the chair and moved towards the door. Before he stepped out, he called over his shoulder, "Now get your arse up. I'm starving and you're buying."

Draco groaned and pushed his face further into his pillow. He really wanted to continue sleeping. It couldn't be morning yet. He looked at the clock by his bed. It read 7 am.

_7am?!_

"Blaise!" he yelled out, "It's seven in the fucking morning. Get your own breakfast."

And he proceeded to roll over, pulling the blanket over his head.

But much to his dismay, he started to itch all over and then broke out into bolstering laughter. He started kicking off his blankets and rolling around in his bed uncontrollably.

"_Blaise!_ -Haha!-You bastard! S-stop it-HAHA!-My-hehe!-Stomach's hurting! Hahaha!" and he continued laughing and gasping as he curled into a fetal position, hoping to stop the tickling.

Finally, after another thirty seconds, the spell was lifted and he took in a deep breath and massaged his abdomen before growling, "What the _hell,_ mate? You're lucky my wand is by my desk."

Blaise just smiled as he reappeared and leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed, his wand still in one hand.

"Didn't know what other way to motivate you," he responded simply. "But now that you're fully awake and firing on full pistons, get up." And he walked out again.

In retaliation, Draco growled and threw his pillow towards Blaise's retreating form, but it fell before it touched him.

"You missed!" Blaise called out.

* * *

><p><em>8:10 a.m., Saturday, October 28, 2000, Parisian bistro, wizarding Paris, France <em>

"So, how's living in Paris going? Adjusting well?" Blaise asked as he sipped his tea. He had been chatting non-stop about his recent trip to Italy to visit some extended family. Draco scowled. He was still stewing over his rude wake-up call and was thinking about the various curses he really wanted to send Blaise's way; he was not really paying attention to what the wizard had been saying.

Blaise, however, seemed oblivious to his bad mood and was now set on pestering Draco with questions.

"Fine," he responded in a bitter tone.

"Fine…just fine?" Blaise asked with an amused look on his face.

"Yes," he responded, and bit into his croissant with more force than necessary. Blaise continued, undaunted.

"Gone anywhere yet?"

"No."

"Hmm. How's school?"

"Wonderful."

"And your classes?"

"Exceptional."

"How many are you taking?"

"Five."

"Blimey! Why so many?"

Draco shrugged his shoulders.

"What about the witches? Are they any decent?"

"Breathtaking," he replied sarcastically.

"Oh, I'm sure they are," Blaise responded in mocked solemnity. "Shagging any of them yet?"

"_No_."

After another quick sip of his tea, he asked, "And what about Granger? Seen her around yet?"

At this comment, Draco froze mid bite. He didn't want to share any of that information with him. He was regretting ever telling him that Granger was attending the same school.

"What's with the twenty questions?" he snapped instead.

"Just curious. You haven't Owled or Flooed me-or anyone else, for that matter-with any of these details since you've left England. So, you can't blame a bloke for wondering. Now spill it, what's up with Muggle-born Granger?"

"Well, what about her?" he asked in irritation while biting into his croissant again.

"What's up with her?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Don't you both go to school together?"

"Yes, and?"

"And have you seen her yet?"

"_Yes_," he said with force. He then took a big sip of his tea, hoping to end the questioning. But he wasn't so lucky.

"Is she in any of your classes?" Blaise continued.

He glared at Blaise while he patted his lips with a napkin. When Draco still didn't respond, Blaise sighed dramatically.

"Mate, stop being a boring sod. Is it so hard to answer me in full sentences?"

"No," he said mid-chew.

Blaise gave a soft chuckle and looked out of the bistro's window. To his good fortune, Granger was walking towards the bookstore across the street.

"Well, speak of the devil," he called out with a grin.

"What?" Draco asked as he polished off his croissant.

Blaise nodded his head towards Granger just as she walked into the store.

"Let's go ask her how she's doing," he said as he tossed down some Parisian wizarding money on the table and stood; seemingly forgetting that Draco was to pay for their meal.

"What? Why?"

"Because you're boring me."

"Huh, this coming from the man that just spent the last hour babbling about Italy."

"It wasn't babbling. I was recounting what I've been up to, since you wouldn't ask. Now, quit stalling and let's go talk to Granger."

Draco scoffed but didn't make to move from the table.

"Right, because she's going to be very chummy with you," he said frowning, "Or have you forgotten that you weren't exactly friends during Hogwarts?" The last thing he wanted was Blaise meddling where he shouldn't.

"Past is past," his friend replied with an uninterested wave of his hand. "Besides, never underestimate my charm." He winked.

"Well, you go on ahead and have fun. I'm going to sit here and enjoy the rest of my tea," Draco called out.

Blaise frowned at his friend's antics.

"Aww, come on, Drake. Don't tell me you're not curious about what the Muggle-born has been up to?"

"Don't call me Drake," he snapped.

"Okay, _Draco_, I know you're just as curious as I am. Don't deny it."

When Draco didn't respond, Blaise smirked and said, "Thought so. Now, stop being a git and let's go."

He turned on his heel and made his way to the exit as Draco followed in mock resignation, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

_If he only knew_, Draco thought as he smirked in amusement. _This is going to be very interesting._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: As always, reviews appreciated ;)**


	9. Bookstore RunIn & Halloween Invitation

**Author's Note:**Why hello everyone! I am sooo sorry for the delay! It's been a busy couple of weeks for me so that's what's causing me to slow down a bit. But things are starting to get out of the way and so I will be able to update with more frequency. Yay! Anyway, here's a new chapter for you all. Do let me know what you think about it. :D

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns it all. I only own this plot.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: Bookstore Run-in and Halloween Party Invitation<strong>

_8:45 a.m., Saturday, October 28, 2000, wizarding Parisian bookstore, Paris_

Hermione sat herself by one of the bookstore's back windows and observed people walking by in the cheery October morning. With a small smile, she lifted her coffee paper cup to her lips and relished the taste of her mocha while reading a book she had just found: "Narrative and Comparison of Muggle poets to Wizarding Poets: An Unbiased Wizard's Report". But her mind wasn't concentrating on the words of the book. Instead, she was recalling the conversation she had with Ron.

Despite the initial awkwardness, she was glad it finally happened. She knew that it was long overdue and she couldn't keep ignoring Ron forever. And she thought it worked out for the best. Truth be told, she wasn't as wounded as she thought she was and Ron had seemed so earnest when he said he missed her. And he didn't say that once, but twice.

This was the longest in their many years of friendship that they had gone without speaking. She was starting to feel weird about not having Ron involved in her life when she still kept in touch with the other Weasleys.

Now, after their little talk, she felt that she had made the right choice and that they were on the path towards what they used to be: good friends. She just hoped that Ron didn't take this as a stepping stone towards pursuing her as a girlfriend again. She no longer felt that way for him and she hoped he understood that. Besides, they were so different that she often wondered why she wanted to be with him in the first place. For example, Hermione was far more reserved with expressing her feelings, even when agitated or angered. Ron tended to fly off with his emotions without thought of the consequences. Secondly, Hermione loved to read books by Muggle poets such as E.E. Cummings, Lord Tennyson and Lord Byron. Ron's idea of poetry book was reading statistics from those Quidditch magazines he would purchased in bulk as well as the Daily Prophet's comic section. Lastly, while Hermione preferred to go to bar lounges or jazz cafes, Ron's idea of a good time involved getting smashed at a boisterous pub while being very loud with a group of strangers.

They were complete opposites of one another. Why hadn't she ever seen that before?

She sighed and returned her focus to the book.

_What's past is past_, she thought to herself. _No need to keep dwelling on the whys and hows_.

As she began to get absorbed in the book, someone tapped her right shoulder gently. At first, she gazed up startled but it gave way to a warm smile once she saw who it was.

"Is this seat taken?" Michel asked. He too had a book in his hands.

"No. Please," Hermione offered while moving her brown hobo bag away. This was actually the first time she had seen Michel outside of the school grounds.

"How are you?" he inquired as he settled down.

"Great. Just enjoying this book," she said as she waved it in the air. "This is a surprise."

"Yes, it is. Imagine my pleasant amazement when I walked in and found you by the window," he said with a grin. "What are you reading?"

"Oh, umm. Well, I found this book that compares my favorite Muggle poets to Wizarding ones. So far, it's proven interesting."

"Really? Muggle poets you say?"

"Yes."

"Hmm… _'She walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that's best of dark and bright, meet in her aspect and her eyes: Thus mellow'd to that tender light, Which heaven to gaudy day denies.'_"

Hermione eyes widened as he spoke those first few lines.

When she didn't speak, he cleared his throat and said, "Lord Byron is one of my favourites."

"Mine too," she whispered in awe. "And that is one of my favourite poems."

"Ah. Well, should I continue?"

She nodded and he smiled again.

"'_One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impair'd the nameless grace, Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o'er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express, How pure, how dear their dwelling-place._'"

Hermione's face broke into a smile again. She had never seen this side of Michel before. Now, she wanted to know more about him.

* * *

><p>"Well, will you look at this," Blaise muttered as he stopped abruptly at the doorway of the bookstore. "Who is that?" he asked while raising an eyebrow.<p>

"Who?" Draco asked as he stopped short of bumping into Blaise's backside. When Blaise didn't elaborate or move, he walked around him and froze in his tracks at the sight that met them.

A few feet away from them was Granger, and she was talking to…Chevalier?

He scowled at the sight and pulled on Blaise's arm as he quickly ducked behind a bookshelf. Thank Merlin they hadn't been spotted yet.

"What? What's going on?" Blaise asked.

"Nothing," Draco muttered as he tried to peek around at the pair from their hiding place.

"Then, why are we hiding?" he asked.

"Shh!" Draco hissed.

"Why are we whispering?" Blaise asked next, in amusement.

"Just-shut up for a minute," Draco muttered while glaring at Blaise. When Blaise made the gesture of zipping his mouth and tossing away the imaginary key, he turned back towards the scene. They were still a bit too far away to be heard. Sadly, he wasn't any good at reading lips and he didn't own any of those ever popular Weasley Extendable Ears. That was a shame, considering the ears would have come in handy at that moment. With a sigh, he decided to cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself and walk closer towards them.

Before Blaise had time to react, Draco disappeared and walked away from the bookshelf, keeping to the walls. Thankfully, the bookstore wasn't crowded due to the early hour. It made it easier for him to navigate without giving himself away.

_Why is Chevalier here with her_? he fumed to himself. _And what are they even discussing?_

* * *

><p>"No, I really think that Keats was trying to be funny," Michel refuted playfully.<p>

"He was not!" Hermione giggled.

"Yes, he was. That poem _'Fancy'_ was mostly written for individuals with no sense of imagination in order to get them to escape themselves. And then the descriptions he listed were of plain ridiculousness, obviously teasing them."

"How can you say that?" Hermione gasped from laughing. "You obviously missed his point. He was just giving examples to make you realize that imagination can be endless. It can lead you anywhere and it's vital. Otherwise, a person would go insane going through quotidian activities and undertaking mundane tasks day after day."

"Hmm, maybe you're right," he replied with a grin.

Hermione giggled again and looked down at her wrist watch. It read 9:30 a.m. She was supposed to meet Ginny at her flat in five minutes in order to see the Parisian sights for the day. Since she had been putting off any sightseeing for many weeks due to her school work, Ginny finally wore her down when she visited the Weasleys for dinner last week. After much pestering and nagging from the red head, she finally gave in and they made plans. They were further strengthened when Ginny appeared last night with her brother in tow, so there was no escape. And now, if she didn't hurry, she was going to be late and risk facing an irritated Ginny.

"Oh my," she murmured, "It's getting late."

She smiled as she turned her eyes to Michel. "It was nice spending time with you here."

"Yes, likewise," Michel responded. "We should do this again sometime."

"I'd love that," Hermione answered with a grin.

As she stood and made to grab her bag, Michel stood as well. He cleared his throat again.

"Ermm, Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Well, how about we meet again this Tuesday?"

"Tuesday… isn't that Halloween?"

"Why, yes it is," he responded with a lopsided grin. "I don't know if you noticed, but there have been posters and flyers circulating around campus about a Halloween party at the Wizarding pub near the Latin Quarter. It's open to anyone, and I've been told that it's a pretty enjoyable event. Would you like to come with me?"

"Oh. A party, you say?"

"Yes. But you don't have to wear a costume if you don't want to. And we can just go as friends."

"Oh."

Suddenly, from the left side of the room, a thick book fell unexpectedly and reverberated loudly, causing Hermione to gasp and Michel to look towards the origin of the sound.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Sounded like a book falling from one of those shelves. Probably was misplaced." He turned back to Hermione and smiled again.

"So…what do you say? Will you come?" he asked.

"Is the party going to run late?"

Michel chuckled at this question. "Hermione, has anyone ever told you that answering a question with a question doesn't evade the prior request?"

She blushed at his comment and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. It's just that this event falls during the week and I have class the next day."

"Oh, that's the problem, is it? Then how about we do this, then: if the party seems to run long, I promise that we will leave at a reasonable time. Does that sound fair?"

Hermione mulled over his request. If she was being honest to herself, a night out during the week could do her some good. She hadn't done much exploring, excluding her current plans with Ginny, and this was the first time she had actually gotten an invitation from anyone.

And who cared that it was an invitation for a holiday party? She could manage being out of her comfort zone for one night. Besides, how bad could it be to be spending more time with Michel? So far, he had proven to be a gentleman and a great person to hang around with.

_What the hell?_ she thought. _One night out on the town during the week can't hurt._

"Yes," she replied.

"Yes…yes, you think that sounds fair? Or yes, you will come?"

"Both," she responded. And Michel's smile got wider.

"Excellent. I'll give you more details on Tuesday. Or, if you'd rather, I can Owl you."

"An Owl would work best."

"Ok, I will make sure to send you the details tonight."

With a nod of her head, she pulled on her bag and made her way to the correct bookshelf in order to return the book she had gotten.

"Here, I'll walk you out," he offered as he held the door open.

"Oh, thank you," she beamed. Both of them exited the bookstore.

Without either of them realizing, Draco materialized again, seething and glaring at the pair of them with balled fists, clenching and unclenching vigorously.

* * *

><p>After Granger and Chevalier disappeared from sight, clapping errupted from one of the bookshelves and Draco turned towards the sound.<p>

"That had to be the most entertaining show of jealousy if I ever saw one."

Draco glared at Blaise.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he growled.

"Oh, I'm sure you don't," Blaise mocked.

"No, I don't."

"Right."

As Draco continued to glare, Blaise moved towards the book that Draco had knocked down while under the charm. He let out a small chuckle when he read the title.

"What?" Draco bit out in irritation.

"Maybe you should give this book a try," he answered and tossed the book towards Draco.

With quick Seeker reflexes, he caught the book before it fell to the ground. Despite the weight, he managed to hold onto it with one hand and flipped it over in order to read the title: "1,001 Ways to Woo a Witch. Idiot-Proofed."

He frowned.

"That's not funny," he replied indignantly.

"Pity. I thought it was," Blaise remarked with a shrug.

"Whatever," he responded as he walked towards the chair Hermione had sat in. As he took the seat, he frowned again. Despite his best efforts to interfere and keep her away Chevalier (albeit covertly), that bugger had still managed to snake in and ring out a date from Hermione.

How unfair!

"So, what was that about?" Blaise asked suddenly, interrupting his thoughts. He sat himself in the chair next to him, looking at Draco expectantly.

"Nothing," he grunted.

"Nothing? Didn't look like nothing."

"Yeah, well, it was."

"Huh. Then why do you look like you were ready to kill that man?"

"Because that bloke is an annoying fuck."

"And it didn't have anything to do with the fact that he was talking to Granger? Better yet, that he managed to get a date from her?"

Draco turned his frown towards Blaise but said nothing.

After a few minutes of stony silence, Blaise sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose before rubbing his hand over his face.

"Mate, don't lie to me. I know how you feel about her," Blaise said.

Draco's frown froze before his face went blank. He was feeling anxious despite keeping a neutral expression.

"You know nothing," he said.

"I know more than you think," Blaise responded with confidence.

"Oh really? Like what?"

"Well, for starters, I know that you've held a torch for her since our fifth year."

At this comment, Draco gawked before he frowned deeply again.

"I have not!" he sputtered in denial, beginning to look flustered.

"Oh yes, you have," Blaise replied, "why else would you keep passing on so many willing shags?"

"I-"

"Save it. Come on, it's me you're talking to. And I'm offended you've never said a word in all these years."

Draco sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He should have known that Blaise was too observant for his own good. Blaise had an uncanny ability to put two and two together. Draco should not have mentioned Granger in passing when he discussed his further schooling endeavours. Blaise, at the time, had smirked at the mention of her name but hadn't said anything.

"How long have you known?" he asked in resignation.

"I've had a hunch since then. But you confirmed my suspicion six months ago when you reacted foully to an article about her and The Weasel in the _Prophet_."

"Huh. And yet you said nothing."

Blaise shrugged and continued, "Not to mention, this little show you just pulled was a major affirmation of my suspicions."

Draco cringed. Yeah, that wasn't his best of moves.

"Who else suspects or knows?" he asked warily.

"As far as I'm aware, no one else knows. Just me."

Draco gave a humourless chuckle as he leaned back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling.

"Why didn't you ever confront or badger me about this before?" he asked as he turned his gaze back towards Blaise.

Blaise grinned. "I'm not one to force confidences."

Draco snorted.

"Alright, fine. There was a part of me that was hoping you would trust me enough to tell me. But you never did."

"Right. Trust a fellow Slytherin. Hilarious."

"Well, we _are _mates, first and foremost."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes and people-watched before Blaise spoke again.

"I can see the appeal," he began.

"What?"

"Why you're so attracted to the Mud-err, Muggle-born," he corrected.

Draco gave a humorless laugh. "Oh, Blaise. The war on blood status has been fought for naught, it seems."

"Hey, I can't help that word. It's habit, you know."

"Right."

"Anyway, I can see why you like her, despite her blood status."

"Really? Well, by all means, enlighten me."

"Where do I begin?" Blaise teased as he sat up and rubbed his palms together. "Let's see: she's pretty attractive for a Muggle-born and only the smartest witch of our age. You've never been one to be attracted to someone that isn't a challenge and that's what she is to you: a challenge."

"That's not true!"

"Yes, it is. Why do you think you've never lasted in a relationship longer than a few weeks?"

"Because they were boring."

"Exactly. They didn't stimulate your brains any longer than you could stand. Thereby, leaving you little or no chance of a chase. "

"Maybe. But-"

"May I remind you of Pansy and her overbearing infatuation with you?"

Draco made a face. "Point taken."

"See? I'm right. You like a girl who's a challenge."

"Fine. But that's not the only reason."

"Oh, I'm sure," Blaise smirked, "Just as I'm also sure that you've been seeing plenty of Granger despite your denial earlier."

Draco didn't deny it, but he also didn't elaborate. Blaise smiled as he knew he hit the nail on its head.

"See, aren't you happy that I decided to come visit you?" he jested.

Draco rolled his eyes and returned to his people watching.

"So, are we going?" he asked.

"Going where?" Draco asked as he looked back at Blaise.

"You know, to that Halloween party?"

"Who said you were invited?"

"Hey, I think I earned my right to go with you. Or else, who's going to help you?"

"Help me? With what?"

"Keeping that git away from Granger."

"Right. Before the night festivities even begin, you're going to disappear with some random witch."

"Hey, now. I'm not a bad friend, you know. For you, your interests would be my priority. At least, for that night anyway."

Draco pondered the suggestion for a few seconds. It wasn't a bad plan.

"Seriously? You want to go to this event?" Draco asked.

"Mate, this will be my first college partying experience. _Of course_ I want to go."

Draco cracked a small smile at his answer. For the first time that day, he felt a small flicker of hope.

* * *

><p><strong>AN #1: I just want to say here and now that I am NOT a poet expert. PLEASE don't crucify me about what I added in one of the sections. I just thought that poem excerpt would be a good way for Hermione and Michel to connect. And what I posted for the other poem as it's meaning was what I researched online. The first poem I posted was "She Walks In Beauty" By Lord Byron and the other that's referenced is "Ode to Fancy" by John Keats. **

**A/N #2: PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	10. Halloween Party Mischief, part 1

**Author's Note: **Ay, please don't boo me! I am sorry for taking forever to post a new update. I've actually be struggling a little bit and had to end up splitting this chapter in two. I'll post part 2 as soon as I can! Still editing some of the party scene. Anyway, enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns it all. I only own this plot.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10-Halloween Party Mischief, Part 1<strong>

_12:45 p.m., Tuesday, October 31, 2000, Wizarding University of Paris library, back tables _

Draco looked down at his pocket watch for the third time and frowned.

Granger was supposed to meet him fifteen minutes ago and she was never late. He had hoped, since he had proved her wrong, much to Draco's glee, that they would be able to study at the café across the campus. But as he waited, he started to get very impatient and thought about forgetting the trip all together.

Actually, if he was honest to himself, his annoyance had more to do with the weekend's outcome. But that was a Hippogriff of an issue he'd rather not think about again. Besides, Blaise was going to help him-he had said so himself.

This, he had decided earlier that day, was the only reason why he had been trying his best to control his jealousy the last two days.

At least something good came out of Blaise's visit after all.

But he was still a bit short-tempered, and he was sure that Granger had noticed. She had been sending him wary glances when he was short with her yesterday and earlier that day, as his snark was stronger than usual.

"What's taking her so bloody long?" he muttered after another two minutes passed by.

Finally, he heard her shoes clacking loudly along the library's linoleum tile in rushed steps, and her bushy head appeared, with her breathing heavily. He rolled his eyes at the sight of her. Of course she would be flustered. He sighed.

"Malfoy, I am so sorry! I had to talk with my professor, and-"

"Save it. Just…sit down already. And breathe."

She plopped down noisily and took a deep breath while trying to fix her ponytail.

"I really am sorry. The professor had many people waiting in line to ask her about that last theory she discussed. And since it-"

"Granger. Stop. It's fine."

"All right, if you say so." She started to pull out her notebook from her book bag when Draco reached over to stop her hands with his. She looked up curiously and he smirked as he removed his hands.

"How about we change the scenery? You know, since I won our bet?"

She frowned. "Don't remind me."

He chuckled at her response and waited for her answer.

"Fine," she answered with a sigh, "Where did you have in mind?"

"How about the café?"

"The café?"

"Yes. Why? Is that not a good place?"

"Yes. No. Well, it's just that it's always kind of busy in there. Not to mention noisy. Are you sure?"

"Granger, don't worry about it. Besides, don't you know a Silencing Charm?"

Her eyes widened at this. "How did you-"

"Everyone at Hogwarts knew that you, Potter, and Weasley used it often."

"But-"

"Yeah, it was no big secret," he cut in again, "so, are we going?"

He stood up from his chair and picked up his bag while Hermione bit her lower lip in thought.

"Well…I did skip out on my lunch today," she reasoned, "and a nice warm tea will hit the spo-"

"Brilliant. Now that you've worked out the positive outcomes of the trip, get a flaming move on. I want to collect part of my winnings."

She scowled at his interruption again but made no indication of moving. And did he have to remind her of her loss again? She was still not happy that she was proven wrong.

"Must you cut me off-"

"Yes, because all this chatter is not making us move any faster."

Her frown deepened. "What's got your wand in a knot?"

He scowled at her accusation.

"Nothing! I just want to get moving."

"But-"

"Granger, come on!" he snapped. "One foot in front of the other. I haven't got all day."

"All right! Merlin!"

She stood up abruptly, grabbing her book bag with more force than intended and walked out of the library while muttering colourful expletives about Draco's impertinence. Without even a glance at his direction, she exited the library and made her way towards the closest Apparition point.

"Granger!" he called out.

"What?" she growled.

"The café's this way."

Without a word and her chin lifted high, she walked back towards the direction that Draco had been walking and passed him. He, in turn, smirked at her actions but didn't dare say anything else or catch up to her.

* * *

><p>When they arrived, Draco's bitter behaviour improved a little. He had even gone as far as pulling her chair out for her when they reached a table and asking what tea she wanted. As she settled herself, he made his way to the register.<p>

_Maybe this is what he needed, some fresh air_, she reasoned. But why was he still being so snippy with her?

After a few seconds, he came back with their teas and placed hers in front of her before taking his seat.

"Malfoy…"she began but stopped.

"Yes?" he asked as he searched for his notes in his book bag.

When she still didn't continue, he sighed and turned to look at her.

"You know, it's not polite to start saying something to someone and then leave the person wondering what you were going to say," he reprimanded.

"Sorry. It's just that…I don't know how to go about this."

"Go about what?"

"Well, I've noticed that you've been rather short-tempered these last two days. Well, more than usual, towards me. And…"

"…And?"

"And I'm just wondering…why? Did I do something to you?"

He smirked. "Aww, Granger. Are you saying that you miss my charming personality?"

"Charming personality?" she asked with a scoff. "Hardly. No, you just seem more unpleasant than usual."

"And here I was, trying to be a bit nicer today. Even offering to take you to this café."

"What? No, this is you collecting on our bet. You said so yourself."

"Tom-ay-toes, to-mah-toes," he replied with a wave of his hand before reaching for his tea, notes temporarily forgotten. "The point is I am trying to do something nice for a change."

"Why?"she asked in shock.

"Because I feel like it," he replied with a smirk. He was really enjoying this. Throwing Granger off-kilter was fun indeed.

She shook her head at him before raising her tea to her lips. "You are definitely something."

"Of course I am. I'm a Malfoy."

She snorted before taking a sip.

They drank their teas in momentary silence as Draco appraised her with his eyes while she looked around the café. Well, he stared at her, more like.

What _was_ it about her that unsettled him so? Yes, she was smart and pretty. But that wasn't it. If he had to pinpoint it he guessed it was her fire and her lack of taking bullshit, especially from him. A small smile tugged at his lips without a second thought.

"So, are you going to that Halloween party tonight?" he asked suddenly.

Hermione turned her gaze to him, surprise marring her features.

"Where did that come from?"

"What? Can't I ask if you are going to that event?"

"No, that's not it, it's-you know what? Never mind."

"Ok…so is that a yes?"

"Yes, I am going."

"Oh. By yourself?"

"No."

"With whom, then?"

"None of your business."

"It's a simple question, Granger. No need to be evasive."

"Why do you care?"

"I don't. But it's impolite to avoid the question and then be rude about it."

She released a mirthless laugh. "By Merlin, a Malfoy giving me etiquette lessons. Whatever next?"

"Maybe a lesson on how to drink your tea properly?" he teased innocently.

She glared at him.

"I am quite capable of drinking tea correctly, thank you."

"If you say so," he answered with a shrug, smiling angelically.

She scowled at his impertinence, swallowed the last of her tea without really tasting it and began to pull out her notes savagely from her bag.

"If there isn't anything else you need to criticize, I suggest we get started," she clipped.

He shook his head. "Can't."

"What? Why not? Your bag is right there."

"Because we aren't done with our discussion."

"Discussion? What discussion?" she asked, her irritation escalating.

"You know, for being the most brilliant witch of our age, you certainly are dense. I'm talking about your Halloween party plans. Keep up."

"Why do you need to obsess over this one piece of information? Does it really matter who I am going with?"

"It's not an obsession. I like to see all angles of the information given to me, weigh the pros and cons. And yes, it does matter. You don't want to be going to a gathering-your first social gathering, at that- and give out the wrong impression now, do you?"

"I never give off the wrong impression! And my choice of escort shouldn't matter."

"Oh, but it does."

"So, are you saying that you also care what people think?"

"You forget. I don't care what people think about me."

"Liar."

"Just answer the question, Granger."

"Why?"

"Because it's simple."

"No, you're just being nosy."

"Just tell me already. I mean, what if the person you've decided to go with is actually a psycho under his robes? Or a pervert who will spend the night groping your arse? You may think you know the guy but you're not a bloke. I can help you there. Don't you want someone to advise you against those types of dates?"

She threw her hands up in the air.

"Ugh! You're so annoying! You win. I'm going with Michel. Happy?"

Though he already knew this, it still didn't make him feel any better about her confirming it out loud. He really must be a masochist.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" he said with a forced smile as she huffed. "Michel, eh? Finally giving the poor chap a chance to get into your knickers, then?"

"He is not trying to get into my knickers!"

"So you think."

"You're such an arsehole."

"No, I'm male. It's what we do. And I thought you said I was annoying."

"You're both, and you know bloody well that Michel isn't like that."

He shrugged at this, trying to tone down his jealousy. Of course he knew. But he couldn't help riling Hermione up.

"Well, what about you? Are you going to this event?" she asked, trying to switch the tables on him.

"Of course I am. First party where I get to socialize."

She scoffed. "You don't even make the effort while at school."

He shrugged. "This is different. Alcohol will be involved."

"Whatever. Who are you going with?"

"Someone."

"Who?" she asked again.

"You'll see."

"Why can't you just tell me? You just forced me."

"So?"

"So, I'm entitled to know!"

"Well, unlucky for you, you will have to wait till tonight."

"Why? Is it someone I know?"

"Maybe."

"Then who?

"You'll find out soon enough."

"But what if the person you decided to go with is actually a psycho under her robes? Or a pervert who will spend the night groping your arse?" she quoted back.

"Impossible. But you're going to have to wait and see," he replied with a smirk.

She ground her teeth together, trying to keep from growling out loud. Of all the nerve!

"You know what? I actually don't really care. We are wasting time and I need to leave early so I can get ready for tonight," she snapped.

"Couldn't agree more," he replied, trying to keep his amusement at bay.

With another glare sent his way, she began to talk about their Arithmancy assignment for the day, with more force than usual. Thankfully, Draco kept his mouth shut about the night's upcoming event and didn't tease her for the remainder of their study session.

* * *

><p><em>8:19 p.m., Tuesday, October 31, 2000, near Latin Quarter, Wizarding Paris<em>

"So, are you ready for tonight's festivities?" Blaise asked with a wry smile. They were both walking towards the pub and were about one block away from the festivities. Despite having the opportunity to Floo there, Draco had decided to walk. He needed to clear his head and relieve some of his anxiety.

"Ready how?" he asked.

"Well, tonight should be interesting, to say the least. Aren't you at least a bit giddy?" Blaise inquired.

"I would be if I knew exactly what you were planning to do."

"Oh, don't you worry. I won't be doing anything too crazy. For me, anyway."

Draco stopped walking at that comment and turned to Blaise. Meanwhile, Blaise feigned ignorance and continued on his way.

"What exactly are you planning to do?" Draco asked suspiciously as he caught up to him.

"Patience, patience. All will soon reveal itself," he replied with a wink.

Before Draco could reply, Blaise bellowed, "Ah! Here we are!" and yanked opened the pub's door, walking in without a second glance at Draco.

Draco shook his head and followed. He just hoped that Blaise was actually going to help instead of causing chaos. The last thing he wanted was unnecessary additional problems in his already confusing relationship with Granger.

As soon as they stepped inside, they were greeted by a lot of noise. There were at least one hundred witches and wizards milling about, the music bumping out loudly despite the seeming quiet from outside of the pub. Of course, the organizers seemed to have placed some type of Silencing Charm to keep law enforcement away.

As they made their way inside, they noticed that the whole place was covered with decorations, including floating, carved pumpkins that were set about randomly as well as a few charmed miniatures that were flying on broomsticks in crazy patterns above their heads. They also saw that in one corner of the pub, there were tables set up buffet-style and that the bar was already swarming with people ordering mixed drinks, Firewhiskey and Butterbeer. In the middle, people were already dancing on the dance floor, shaking their money-makers while holding onto their drinks.

Draco noticed that some of them were in costume but that the majority of the crowd seemed to have opted for casual evening wear. For that, he was grateful. He had had no intentions of dressing up for Halloween and had opted to wear a black button-down shirt with black slacks, as did Blaise. Everything seemed to be in full swing despite the party having only started twenty minutes ago.

"Now _this_ is a party," Blaise complimented loudly.

Draco rolled his eyes and began to see if he recognized anyone around them. Blaise noticed him do this and chuckled.

"See her yet?" Blaise asked.

"What?" Draco asked in a shout.

"I said, do-you-see-her?" he asked again.

Draco shook his head but continued his search. He found many of his classmates around different parts of the pub but saw no sign of the tell-tale bushy brown head.

After a few more minutes of searching, he sighed and turned back to Blaise.

"Fancy a drink?" he asked him.

"Why, I thought you would never ask," Blaise replied with a lopsided smirk and both made their way to the bar.

"What'll it be, gentlemen?" the bartender asked.

"Two Firewhiskeys," Draco replied and put down a couple of galleons before turning back to look at the crowd. With a sinking heart, he found Marion dressed in a bumblebee costume, talking to a group of people that were also dressed in costume. She hadn't seemed to spot him yet and he hoped it stayed that way.

"You know, it may be possible that she's running late. I mean, maybe the chap decided to buy her dinner beforehand," Blaise said in suggestion.

Draco scowled at him. Of course he had to add more salt to the wound.

"I'm just saying you should relax and maybe, you know, talk to those gorgeous witches," Blaise responded as he pointed his chin towards the group that Marion was with.

"No, thank you," he clipped.

"What? Why not?"

"Have my reasons," Draco replied as Blaise rolled his eyes.

At that moment, the bartender placed their drinks in front of them. Blaise snatched his and smiled.

"Well, if you're not going to, don't mind if I do," he replied and started to head towards her. Before, he could get any farther, Draco grabbed his arm.

"What about your plan?"

Blaise snorted. "Merlin, Draco. She's not even here yet. Relax. Once I see her walk in, I'll come back. Promise."

He shook Draco's hand away and began his walk towards Marion. Draco looked on with disgust.

"Typical," Draco muttered and took a hearty sip of his Firewhiskey. The liquid burned as it made its way down his throat and was a very welcomed feeling. This night was going to be a long one, he was sure of it.

As he was about take another swig, a classmate from his Finance class approached him and started talking to him. He grimaced while the person chatted away happily about his day, oblivious to Draco's behaviour. Draco had hoped to keep to himself and continue his people-watching discreetly. But that now seemed impossible. Especially when the man began to ask him if he had started the homework they were assigned earlier that day. Now he had no choice but to engage and respond.

He did so cordially but didn't elaborate or ask his classmate any questions in return. He hoped that it would help wrap up their discussion quickly or make the man lose interest.

Thankfully, after a few more minutes, the man seemed to get the hint. He got a Butterbeer from the bar and then waved goodbye to Draco.

He exhaled a breath of relief. Though the bloke was nice and not that bothersome, Draco was not in the mood to conduct small talk. He turned back to his drink, and just as he was about to take another sip, his eyes looked towards the pub door that was swinging open and he felt his throat go dry.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'll post part 2 SOON! Promise :)**


	11. Halloween Party Mischief, part 2

**Author's Note: **Here's part 2. In one of the scenes, I was somewhat inspired by the movie "Wedding Crashers". See if you can find it. It's pretty obvious, lol

Anyway, Enjoy! :) Two updates in one day! Aren't you spoiled? :P

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns it all. I only own this plot.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: Halloween Party Mischief, Part 2<strong>

Lo and behold, Hermione finally walked in, arm-in-arm with that bothersome bloke. They were both wearing costumes, but Draco didn't take notice of what Michel was wearing. Instead, he couldn't help but gape at Hermione's outfit.

She was dressed in a Greek-styled costume that was form-fitted and that was long enough to reach her feet. The sleeves and the bottom of the costume were dyed in light blue while the top had a somewhat deep-cut neckline that still maintained modesty. Her hair looked strategically arranged, her curls looking more refined and shiny. In her hands, he noticed she was holding a small purse and a shawl that matched her outfit. Without a doubt in his mind, she really did look like a Greek goddess. Better yet, an angel.

"Well, will you look at her? All that's missing is a halo and wings," he heard from his left side. He turned and found Blaise standing with Marion at his side. When Marion saw that it was Draco he spoke to, she blushed and looked away warily.

"Umm, hi Draco," she greeted timidly without looking him the eyes.

"Hey," he replied. Blaise looked between the two of them, confused for a second before a switch went off in his head. He smirked at them.

"Know each other?" Blaise asked her with a grin.

"Umm, yes. Ermm, Draco and I are in c-class together," she stuttered. She turned her gaze towards Blaise. "How do you two know each other?"

"Oh, I've known this jerk since childhood," he replied in amusement.

"I see," she replied quietly. It was clear that she was agitated by the news.

"Oh, don't worry. He's on his best behavior tonight," he consoled while patting the hand that was in the crook of his arm. Marion smiled at him tentatively as Draco frowned at his antics. He knew how to conduct himself in public, thanks very much!

"Anyway, Marion and I came here to see if you changed your mind about acting lone-wolf and if you wanted to mingle with us," Blaise explained.

Draco forced a smile and grabbed Blaise's other arm tightly.

"Marion, will you excuse us for a second?"

Before she could reply, he jerked Blaise roughly away from her and towards a somewhat empty corner of the pub.

"What the hell, Blaise? I thought you had a plan," he hissed.

"Oh, calm down. They just got here. Let them settle themselves before I spring into action."

"What exactly are you planning to do?"

"Don't worry about-"

"Blaise," he called out in warning while tightening his grip on his arm.

"All right! Let go of my arm and I'll show you," he replied grudgingly. When Draco released him, he sighed.

"Damn it, Draco. Will you just relax already? I've got it under control."

"Show me what you are planning to do."

Blaise put one of his hands in his pocket and retrieved a small vial. He presented it to Draco.

"What the hell is this?" Draco asked as he snatched it out of his grip.

"Muggle eye drops," he replied.

"Eye drops? What for?"

"You'll see," he answered while grinning wickedly.

"It better not cause major problems."

"Oh, it won't. Actually, that's a bit of a lie because it depends on the person. Anyway, just take a load off, sit back, and watch the show."

Before Draco could say anything, he turned on his heel, concluding their impromptu meeting, and began his walk back to Marion. Draco looked after him with a pensive look.

_Muggle eye drops? What on earth was he planning to do with Muggle eye drops?_ He shook his head and walked back towards them.

When he arrived, he saw that Hermione and Michel had approached the bar. She hadn't seen him yet and was currently laughing at something Michel had said.

_Stupid, goody two-shoed jerk_, Draco thought in frustration. He cleared his throat loudly, trying to interrupt their moment.

"Drinking yourselves into oblivion already, are we?" he asked Hermione.

Hermione's and Michel's eyes zoomed towards him and widened simultaneously. After another second, Hermione frowned at him while Michel looked uncomfortable.

"Malfoy, how unfortunate," she grumbled.

"Wow, this is the greeting I merit after I bought you tea earlier today?"

She blushed but held her head high. "I already thanked you."

Michel looked confused at their exchange but shook his head, opting to say nothing as he picked up his beverage. He had ordered a mixed drink that had a mini-umbrella. Draco smirked at his choice but decided to say nothing about it.

"So what's the plan for tonight? Going to participate in that ridiculous costume competition?" Draco asked her as he jerked a thumb towards the person who was walking around with a clipboard, writing down names of those wearing costumes.

"No, that wasn't the reason for dressing up," she defended, "but if it can't be helped, then it's no big deal."

He smirked at her and turned his gaze towards Michel, looking him up and down. "And who are you supposed to be?"

"Indiana Jones," Michel replied.

"Indiana what?" Draco asked, confused.

"It's a Muggle movie character," Blaise chimed in. All eyes turned towards him. Draco had somewhat forgotten his presence but saw that Marion was no longer with him. Blaise made his way towards the group nonchalantly with a hand in his pocket and the other holding his drink.

"Blaise Zabini! What are you doing here?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"That's my name. Don't wear it out," he replied with a wink. "Just call me Blaise. And I'm Draco's date."

"His what?" she asked in shock.

"Date. You know, his plus one?"

"I know what a date is," she snapped.

"Sorry, didn't mean offense. You asked," Blaise replied while putting his hands up in front of him defensively, trying to contain his amusement.

"Surprised?" Draco asked, while smiling smugly.

"Well…yes. You made it sound like you were bringing a girl."

"Who says he isn't?" he chortled.

Quickly and without warning, Blaise punched his arm hard. Draco grimaced.

"That was a joke," Draco grumbled, massaging his arm.

"So who's this?" Blaise asked while sipping his beverage, ignoring Draco. Hermione turned towards Michel and blushed. She felt sort of bad for not introducing him right away.

"Blaise, this is Michel. Michel, Blaise," she introduced. "Blaise is also a fellow classmate from Hogwarts."

"Nice to meet you, mate," Blaise said while extending his hand.

"Nice to meet you, too," Michel replied and shook hands with him. To his dismay, Blaise shook his hand with a firm grip as Draco had when they had met. Luckily, Blaise released his hand right away, and he was able flex his fingers discreetly. A small frown formed on Michel's face. What was it about these Hogwarts blokes and squishing his hand?

"School-mates?" Blaise asked.

"Yes, we are both taking a Ministry policy class together," Hermione explained.

"Ah, I see. And how's that going?" he asked Hermione.

"It's an interesting class and we're learning a lot. But I'm sure you don't want to hear about the class content, especially here," Hermione said as she sipped her Butterbeer.

"Oh, you are mistaken. Ministry policy has always intrigued me. Please do elaborate," Blaise replied as he placed his empty glass on the bar counter and resting his elbow on it. He placed a hand on his cheek. To an outside observer, he embodied the look of one who was trying to pay close attention.

Draco, however, knew better and that this was his way to try and unsettle the pair. So far, he seemed to have succeeded because from the looks of it, Hermione seemed to have found his actions somewhat disconcerting. She hardly knew the man, so it was no surprise that she felt uncomfortable in having a full-on technical conversation. Therefore, having pity on her, Draco decided to cut in.

"Where's Marion?" he asked Blaise, trying to shift the attention to him.

"Back with her friends. Said she had to ask them something and was coming back later," he said while waving his free hand dismissively. He still kept his stare pinned on both Michel and Hermione as a small smile broke on his lips. They were both shifting their feet in obvious discomfort and were now looking at each other. He was having too much fun.

"How about another round? My treat," Draco said next, hoping that it would stop Blaise from being an arse.

Blaise perked up at this and stood up, rubbing his hands together. "Great idea! Especially if you're buying…"

Draco rolled his eyes, gulped down the rest of his Firewhiskey, and placed the empty tumbler back on the bar table.

"Another round," he told the bartender. When Hermione tried to decline, Draco ignored her. Instead, he turned to Michel and asked with a sneer, "Another Piña Colada for you?"

"Yes, thank you," Michel answered with a frown. He suspected that Draco was trying to make fun of his choice of drink, but he refused to cave or be baited into a fight.

"How about you both find us a table while we wait for your drinks?" Blaise suggested. "I'm very intrigued to learn about your class and its subjects."

Hermione looked at him, taken aback. "Actually, we were planning to-"

"Just for a moment. Besides, we have to catch up," he pressed on while sending her another wink.

Hermione looked from Blaise to Draco warily before voicing her decision. So far, she didn't find anything helpful or comforting from either of their expressions, though Draco's face currently held a scowl.

"Well…just for a little bit," she began, "we were planning to talk to our friends over there." She looked back at her date and asked timidly, "Is that ok, Michel?" And she almost cringed as she took in his expression. His face was unreadable, but she knew that he was feeling bothered by these men. Regardless, he made no attempt to be rude.

"I've no problem getting to know your friends," he replied, though his body language indicated otherwise.

"Excellent! It's settled. You'll find us a table and we'll come right over as soon as we have the beverages," Blaise replied with an innocent smile.

Hermione shook her head at his antics but did as asked, picking up her beverage and walking away. When she realized that Michel hadn't followed, she clasped his hand in hers and tugged him gently to follow. But before he did so, Michel looked back and frowned at the pair. What exactly were they trying to pull? He knew from past experience that Draco didn't like him in the least. And this friend of his looked very questionable. With a sigh, he picked up his beverage and let Hermione guide him away.

"Well, that was interesting, to say the least," Draco quipped with a frown after the pair had gone. However, his frown quickly gave way to curiosity as he saw Blaise dig into one of his pockets again for the small vial. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Shh," he replied as he quickly squirted two drops into Michel's new drink, making sure quickly the bartender had turned away. When he also assured himself that the people around them hadn't taken notice of his actions, he hid the vial back in his pocket and stirred the drink quickly with the mini-umbrella. He then snatched it up along with his drink and began to stride confidently towards the table that Hermione found for them.

Draco, meanwhile, shook his head, still not sure of what he was up to, and carried his and Hermione's drink in his hands.

"Here we are, another Piña Colada for you," Blaise announced as he handed the drink to Michel.

"Thank you," Michel bit out as he saw Blaise take his seat.

"Here's yours," Draco said as he handed Hermione her Butterbeer. She thanked him and took it. Since she had her original bottle unfinished, she placed the new drink away from her. Despite its low alcohol content, she wanted to pace herself-it was a school night and she wanted to leave early.

When they settled down, an awkward silence fell. Well, more like they were merely keeping quiet. The pub still had music booming loudly, and people were starting to make cheering sounds as the dance floor started to break up in the middle to reveal a proficient dancer. Their eyes strayed towards the attraction as they saw a wizard trying to crank out the latest dance craze while the crowd encouraged him on. They had started to cheer him on with chants of his name.

After a few minutes of watching the man dance, Blaise finally spoke up.

"So, what exactly are you learning at the moment?" he asked Hermione loudly. He had been waiting for Michel to take the first sip of his beverage before he started talking. Satisfied by the hearty gulp Michel took, he smiled.

Hermione was in the process of taking another sip of her drink when he startled her with his question. She ended up spilling some of it on the table. Draco snorted but didn't say anything. He turned his gaze back to the dancing man in order to avoid the glares he was receiving from everyone.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," Blaise replied while handing her a napkin.

"It's ok, it happens. And what exactly is it that you want to know?" she asked as she dabbed the table and her bottle dry.

"Well, I was just wondering if you were reviewing the UK system or are they starting you off with French one first."

"Umm…well, since it is a Ministry class that I am taking in Paris, they have started going over the basics of this country's laws. Though I am curious why you think they would tackle the UK system first."

"Oh, I just thought they would want to cover the UK's since the majority of the students in your class are from the there, are they not?" As he said this, he sneaked another glance at Michel, who distractedly took another swig of his drink. He smirked and turned his full attention back to Hermione, composing his features. Hermione, however, didn't notice his behavior, since she was folding the napkin.

"Yes, there's a fair number of us," she replied and pursed her lips. "How did you know?" she asked.

"Wild guess," he said while shrugging his shoulders. "Anyway, have you noticed similarities or are their laws very different?"

Draco turned towards Blaise and gave him a skeptical look. Why was he discussing such a dry subject that he knew Blaise couldn't care less about? When Blaise caught his eyes, he gave him a small lift of his chin and eyebrows that seemed to say _play along_.

While they were having their own small, non-verbal talk, Hermione answered Blaise's question without hesitation.

"Of course their laws are somewhat different. This is another country all together. French laws for Muggles, in general, are different to the one's back home. Now that I think of it, I guess that's the most interesting part. It's not so much the differences between other foreign countries but rather the policy from both within the Muggle and wizarding ministries of this country itself."

"But that's kind of the same with the UK Muggle government and the Ministry of Magic," Draco countered.

"Yes, but not exactly," Hermione replied, "If you think about it, both Muggle and wizarding laws in the UK are somewhat similar and complement each other so they can work together easily. For example, what the Muggle laws lack-mostly, because it's not a necessary addition-the corresponding wizarding laws make up for. The French ones are completely opposite."

"Ah, I see," Blaise said with mock interest. He turned to Michel. "Why do you think that is?"

"Well, there have been a number of theories on why my government is set up like that," Michel replied.

"Your government?"

"Yes. I'm French, you see."

"Ah. A French man. So, what are your thoughts?"Blaise asked.

"Well, like I mentioned, many theories exist out there. One of them is that the Muggle government wanted to disassociate from and not recognize the wizarding community at all."

"But that's impossible," Hermione said aghast. "That's like pretending France isn't neighbours with Spain."

Michel smiled at her indignation, but then his smile slowly slipped off his face as he began to feel a bit uncomfortable and hot. He shifted in his seat. So far, no one seemed to notice his discomfort.

"Yes, I know. But when have Muggles ever been reasonable about things they don't fully understand?" Michel asked. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead, but he wiped them away quickly and cleared his throat.

"The man has a point," Draco replied.

"What are some other theories besides this one?" Blaise asked.

"Michel, are you ok?" Hermione cut it suddenly. He had started to sweat more profusely and had gone a bit pale.

"I'm fine," he replied with a grunt. Blaise looked on with a smirk while Draco stared at him before looking at Blaise. What in Salazar was going on?

"You sure, mate? You don't look so good," Blaise said with feigned concern.

"Yes. Just-please excuse me for a second," he answered and then bolted from the table as Hermione stared after him with wide eyes.

"Wow, was he like this before you came in here?" Blaise asked her.

"No, he was fine earlier," she replied with a small frown.

"If you want, I can go check on him. I'm sure he's in the loo," Blaise offered.

"Yes, please. He really didn't look well when he left just now."

With a nod, he took another quick sip of his drink and got up from his chair. Before he left, Blaise wiggled his eyebrows at Draco when Hermione wasn't looking and then went off, maneuvering around the crowd towards the toilets.

_So that's why he used the drops_, Draco realized and small smile tugged at his lips. He turned towards Hermione and tried to school his features into a neutral look. She was still frowning while she watched the dancing crowd.

"I'm sure he'll be all right," Draco assured.

"But I don't understand. He was fine when we were eating dinner. There was no sign of discomfort."

"Hmm. Maybe it was something he had later," he offered.

At this mention, she snapped her head and narrowed her eyes at Draco. That last bit sounded very suspicious.

"What?" Draco asked in startled surprise.

"I don't know how or why, but I know both of you are behind this," she accused.

"What? That's crazy! Why would we do anything to him?"

"Like I said, I don't know. But I'm sure of it. I'll even bet my entire Gringotts account on this," she replied.

He scoffed. "There's no need because_ I_ didn't do anything." That much was true.

"What did you do?" she demanded, frowning deeper.

"Nothing! I swear it." He wasn't lying. Technically.

"Well if you're not going to answer me honestly, I'll be going now." Before he could stop her, she got up from the table and took her original Butterbeer with her. She no longer trusted whatever he got her, lest she get sick herself.

"Great," he grumbled as he watched her walk towards the group of people she had pointed to earlier. Thanks to Blaise, Hermione was now mad at him. And with good reason. What exactly did he do to the man?

"Where's Hermione?"

Draco turned towards Blaise's voice and growled, "Thanks to you, she blames me for that wanker's discomfort."

"What? Why?"

"Because it was blatantly obvious that the man was fine-and-dandy earlier and is now unexplicably sick. Naturally, she thinks I had something to do with it."

"Well, that's still no reason to blame you. Who knows? Maybe whatever he ate earlier didn't settle well with him and he was finally reacting. Believe me, I saw what he was puking." And he shuddered delicately.

"Damn it, Blaise. What exactly did you do?" he asked, his patience reaching an end.

"Oh, relax. It was just a bit of harmless fun. Muggle eye drops are known to poison a person a little-"

"Poison? You poisoned the man?" he yelled while grabbing the collar of Blaise's shirt with his hands.

"Calm down! It's nothing serious," he replied while slapping Draco's hands away from him. "He's just experiencing some discomfort. That's all, I swear."

"I told you, Blaise. I told you I didn't want any problems!" he fumed.

"And you won't be having any. That, too, I can promise you."

Draco stared hard at Blaise, trying to figure out what else he had done. Because that promise suggested he did something more. So far, nothing came to mind.

"What else did you do?" he asked suspiciously.

"What do you mean 'what else'?"

"Blaise-"

"All right, so I may have charmed Granger's original drink discreetly while she had it in her hands."

"WHAT?"

At his next outburst, a few of the people around them turned to look at them. When they saw that Draco was scowling at someone in particular, they all seemed to shrug and turn back to their activities.

Blaise, however, frowned in return at his reaction. This was not the thanks he was hoping for.

"Good grief! If I had known that you would be acting so sensitive, I wouldn't even have bothered."

"What kind of charm? What did you do?" Draco pressed while rubbing a hand over his face.

"If you really must know, I charmed her Butterbeer to be a bit stronger than usual and mixed in a Memory Charm. Just so she would forget that she was here with that boring sod or that any of this had happened."

Draco's mouth fell open. Of all the underhanded things he had known Blaise to do, this one certainly took the cake. When he had mentioned helping him with Hermione, this was certainly not the way he had envisioned. But he should have known.

"I can't believe I trusted you," he said in incredulity.

"Mate-"

"You're fixing this," Draco snapped with vehemence.

"What? How?"

"For starters, you're going to help Michel get home."

"Why?" Blaise's frown deepened. Definitely not the thanks he was expecting.

"Because it's the right thing to do. And to call off attention from the both of us. I don't want this whole disaster to come back and bite me in the arse because you thought that all of this would be a good idea."

"But Granger won't even remember this!"

"Doesn't matter. There are too many witnesses and you messed up."

"But-"

"Do it!"

"Fine! But I'm coming back right after," Blaise threatened.

"Whatever. Do whatever you want after. Just get him home. _Now_."

He turned away then, needing to get away from his so-called friend lest he succeeded in acting out his desire to kill him. But before he could leave, Blaise called after him. He stopped and turned slowly. He was very upset and livid by the night's outcome.

"I just thought you should know that you better keep an eye on her," Blaise said.

"Why?" he growled.

"Like I mentioned, her beverage is a wee bit stronger and she, too, will need some help getting home."

Draco shook his head and continued walking away.

Leave it to Blaise to create a major catastrophe out of nothing.

As he approached the group that Hermione was with, he saw that she was already reacting a bit differently. She was way more relaxed and laughing loudly at something someone had said. The group she was with started to look at her warily, and someone even asked her if she was all right as she took another big swig from her drink. She waved them away, slurring that she was fine.

He sighed. Definitely not what he had hoped when Blaise said he would help. Why he thought that Blaise's help would be a great idea, he would never know.

When he arrived, Hermione looked up and smiled broadly at him.

"Draco! Hi!" she called out before taking another sip of her drink.

It didn't escape him that she called him by his first name, but he decided to ignore that.

"Hey," he replied and offered a smile at the group she was with. He didn't recognize any of them, so he assumed that they were people from her Ministry class.

"Everyone, this here is Draco," she presented in slur, while stumbling a bit over the words. "He went to Hogwarts with me and is a Slytherin. Evil little bugger," she summarized with a giggle and then smiled widely. Everyone offered him a meek "hello" while someone asked him if she was ok.

"She's fine. Just had a few too many," he said with a knowing grin. When the group smiled back, he looked back at Hermione.

"Granger, I think you should call it a night," he said while fighting to pry the bottle away from her. He finally succeeded when she lost her balance.

"Aww, why? I just got here," she pouted as she grabbed his arm for support while he put the bottle down on a nearby table.

"Trust me, it's for the best," he said with a smirk.

"Well, if you say so," she said with a sigh. "Goodbye everyone! See you on Thursday, yes?"

"Yes, see you in class," one of her classmates piped up.

"Good night. Enjoy the rest of your Halloween," Draco replied cordially. Then, he helped Hermione towards the door. They stumbled a bit, but he eventually succeeded.

"Whoa," she called out suddenly as Draco was about to open the door. She had tripped on her gown. Luckily, Draco saw this and grabbed hold of her waist before she crashed to the floor.

"Hey, are you all right?" he asked while trying to set her right.

"Yeah, just unexpected," she giggled as she threw her arms around Draco's neck. "Thanks for catching me. Guess all those years of playing Seeker are finally paying off, eh?"

He smirked at her dig as he tried to release one of her hands from his neck. "I've always had fast reflexes."

"Oh, sure. That definitely explains why Harry always beat you, catching the Snitch first," she said and then laughed as if she cracked a big joke.

Draco, on the other hand, just smiled. Drunk Hermione was definitely a sight to behold. He shut the door behind them with his foot as he held onto her.

"Okay, so which way to your flat?" he asked her as he began to walk her down the street.

"Whoa, slow down boy. Who says you're invited to my flat?" she asked with a silly grin.

"Granger, I'm trying to help you get home. So which way?"

"Nonsense, I can Apparate myself," she slurred.

"Nope, don't think so. Besides, friends don't let friends Apparate when drunk."

"Yeah, well, I can. Now where's my wand?" she asked while looking around. She noticed that her items were no longer in her hands but in Draco's.

"It's somewhere safe, I promise," he replied.

"Well, give it here, then," she said, pinching Draco's shoulder.

"Oww! Stop that. And no," he said while readjusting Hermione's weight as she leaned on him. She had started to lean more heavily as they walked on, and her arm that was around his neck was starting to lose its grip. It was getting harder to walk. He stopped again as he realized he still had no idea where he had to go.

"Granger, please tell me where you live," he asked again.

"Nu-uh," she said while shaking her head. "I don't want you to see where I live."

He sighed. This was getting them nowhere.

"Fine," he replied.

Before she could respond, he whipped out his wand from his pocket and Apparated them to his flat. She wobbled a bit when they landed and then squinted as she took in her surroundings.

"Where are we?" she asked in awe while still holding onto him.

"My flat."

"But why? I have my own place."

"Yes, but you're being determined not to tell me where it is."

"I told you, I didn't want you to see," she slurred.

"Well, then, there you go."

He began to walk her towards the couch and placed her items on a nearby table.

When he tried to help her sit, she released her hold on him and began to stretch herself on the couch with a sigh of contentment. She kicked off her shoes next as she settled in.

"Make yourself at home," he said with a chuckle.

She smiled and closed her eyes before replying, "Don't mind if I do."

"Do you want a glass of water?" he asked.

She opened her eyes, still smiling. "Water would be good."

As he conjured a glass of water, he saw that her grin started to slip off her face. She began to groan softly.

"You okay?" he asked as he placed the glass on the coffee table and sat next to it.

"No, my head is spinning," she groaned while massaging her forehead and closing her eyes again.

"Sorry to hear that. Want me to get you a potion?"

"No, no. Just-stay put. Don't move."

He sighed again and took out his pocket-watch to look at the time. It read ten-thirty.

_So much for a night of partying_, he thought with a smirk. Besides, they had school tomorrow anyway. And, despite everything, he had Granger here in his place. Something he had not been expecting in the least.

It was just too bad that she was very drunk and probably wouldn't remember any of it.

As Hermione continued to massage her head, he transfigured a cup coaster from the table into a blanket and moved towards her to cover her.

Just as he finished tucking her in and was about to walk away, her hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going?" she asked in a panic slur.

"To my room?" he said in confusion.

"But-"

"But what?"

"Well…can't you stay here?" she asked while opening her eyes slowly.

"Where exactly? I need to sleep too, you know."

"I can share," she replied.

"Share?"

"Uh-huh,"she replied and began to wiggle herself further toward the back of the sofa.

"I don't know about this, Granger."

"Oh, come on. I don't have cooties," she said with a smirk.

"It's not that, I just-"

"Quit stalling. Stay," she cut in.

"Well, if you're sure…"

"I am," she replied as she tugged harder on his arm, causing him to lose his balance. He tried very hard not to fall on top of her and shot an arm out to hold on to edge of the couch.

When he didn't make an effort to move from his position, she huffed in frustration.

"Well? Are we sharing or what?" she asked, sounding like a petulant child.

"My, my, aren't you impatient," he replied with small laugh. "Let me get my shoes off." And he moved to sit on the coffee table again.

When he was finished, he hesitantly approached her before settling behind her. She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. He pulled the blanket around them, trying to cover them as evenly as he could. Once he was done, he tentatively stretched out one of his arms around her. At his antics, she sighed and grabbed his arm more firmly, tucking it around her waist while placing her arm on top of his. She settled herself more snuggly against his chest, causing him to gasp loudly. If she heard him, she didn't comment on it.

"'Night, Draco," she slurred before closing her eyes again. Within a few more minutes, her breathing began to even out and she was out for the count.

"'Night, Hermione," he replied softly while tightening his arm around her waist and shutting his eyes.

_This is definitely a night for the books_, he thought with a smile before sleep finally claimed him, too.

* * *

><p><em>6:45 a.m., Wednesday, November 1, 2000, Draco's flat, Wizarding Paris, France<em>

The sun began to peek through a window when she finally woke up. She blinked her eyes groggily and felt her head spin all over again. She groaned softly and rubbed her eyes slowly. She vaguely had recollections of the night before though, at that moment, it was difficult to even think. She decided not to worry about it for now.

She realized that she was lying sideways with her left side was being pressed into the mattress.

Wait.

This wasn't a mattress. She was on a couch…and it wasn't hers! Even worse, the whole room was unfamiliar and wrong. And was that someone's arm around her waist?

_What in Godric?_ She grunted and touched her forehead again. The spinning continued, though now it felt as if someone had hit her with a hammer multiple times.

Finally, the spinning stopped a little and she took that moment to look down. The stranger's arm was around her waist, restraining her. She couldn't tell whose it was, but noticed that the person had hands that had long, slender fingers.

_Is that-no-no-no-no-NO!_ she thought in a panic.

She tried to turn her head to see his face in order to confirm her suspicion but soon realized she couldn't move at all. She then tried to lift the arm away from her but again failed. Instead, the person-of-interest groaned and pulled her closer. She let out a gasp as she felt a hard chest press into her back and a deep inhalation. His breathing evened out afterwards and he seemed content to continue sleeping.

She sighed. _How in Merlin am I getting out of here?_

She looked around the room, trying to locate her wand. Where the hell was her bloody wand?

"Accio," she called out softly. Quickly and with precision, her wand made its way from a nearby table into her open hand with a quiet snap.

Before fully thinking about her actions, she Transfigured the closest thing she could find into a long fluffy pillow. Next, she cast a spell in order to make the man's arm release her without waking him up. When she succeeded, she quickly wiggled out of the way and put the big pillow into the man's arms, despite the protests of her arms and legs. She groaned quietly as she saw the man squeeze the pillow when she finished.

What had she done the night before that had her head so sore?

After waiting for a few seconds to see if he would wake, she muttered "Lumos" and held her wand in front of the man's face.

With dread, she saw that it was exactly who she thought it was.

Malfoy.

Malfoy?

Why was she with Malfoy?

Oh Merlin, did he try anything? Wait, wasn't she with someone else? Why couldn't she remember?

She quickly made to gather her things. Her shawl and purse were on the same table that had held her wand and her shoes were by the couch. Meanwhile, Draco continued to sleep on, but she saw that he was now squeezing the pillow more tightly. As if realizing that it wasn't her anymore, his face pulled into a pout. Still, he didn't wake.

_Must get out of here_, she chanted as a mantra in her head. As fast as she could manage, she put her shoes on and the shawl over her shoulders while tucking her purse under one of her arms. Quickly, she made her way towards the fireplace. She would think about this more fully when she was in the safety of her own flat. Right now, she just had to get away before she woke Malfoy. The situation was awkward enough.

Without a glance back, she grabbed a fistful of Floo powder from the mantle and Flooed home.

Just as she disappeared and the last green flickers of the Floo died down, Draco's eyes snapped open.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, there you have it. Part 2! It took me forever to finish but I hope it was enjoyable. And in case you were all wondering what Hermione's dress looked like, here's a link that inspired me: images . halloweencostume (dotcomslash) greek-goddess-costume . jpg (substitute written dotcomslash with actual dot and slash)**

**And in case you all are wondering about the eye drop thing, I did my research and yes it is considered poisonous. The severity depends on what type of eye drops you used so yeah...NEVER use that on anyone. It's awful, haha!**

**Please review! :D**


	12. Author's Note

**A/N:**

Sorry peeps, this isn't a new chapter! PLEASE DON'T BOO ME! *runs and hides*

Still here? Okay then... *timidly makes my way back*

Anyway, though I am sorry that I've probably faked out a few of you, there are some things I wanted to talk about since there is no other way to reach some of you and it partly relates to this fanfic. I've been getting a few PM's about it and wanted to shoot two birds with one stone.

First and foremost, I want to thank all of you who have been reading "Temporary Partnership" and have been sending in reviews! Both by signed in members and anonymously. I am glad to hear the positive feedback and am considering writing an epilogue. To be honest, I am rather content by the way it's written so we'll see. But thank you for your enthusiasm and request. Please give me a few more weeks to chew on that idea a bit more thoroughly.

As for this story, I do have a new chapter done. Not to make up excuses, there are several legitimate reasons for the delay in posting: one, I've actually been getting super busy these last couple of weeks with work so I've delayed in my sending it to my beta (I know, my bad). Two, my beta is currently moving and doesn't have constant contact with me at the moment. Therefore, even if I did send her the new chapter, she still won't revise it right away. Three, I've actually been hesitating in sending it out because I feel like I should tweak it a bit more before I post it. Call it ridiculous or pessimistic but I just don't feel it's right yet and want to make certain scenes better.

Anyway, what this post comes down to is me apologizing to those of you have been waiting (patiently, I may add) for an update since March. Especially since I said I would be posting a new chapter last week. I am very sorry! Hopefully, things will slow down on both my end and my beta's. That way, I can post the new chapter soon! Like I said, it is done. I just need to make minor tweaks and get it revised.

Thank you for your infinite patience! Truly! New chapter IS coming!

~Dramione13


	13. The Day After

**Author's Note:** Yes yes, I know. I suck! :( This chapter is way overdue and for that I am sorry! Just FYI, this chapter is still not beta read. So if you spot mistakes, this is why. I just wanted to go ahead and post it before any more days go by. Also, there may be some changes to this chapter in the future. Nothing major, just some minor editing. Anyway, enjoy! Hope it was worth the wait. New chapter is being worked on as we speak.

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns it all. I only own this plot.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: The Day After<strong>

_7:08 a.m., Wednesday, November 1, 2000, Hermione's Parisian Flat, Muggle Paris, France _

As soon as Hermione arrived to her flat, she paced the length of her living room in anxiousness. She was still dressed in her Halloween costume and didn't dare look at herself in a mirror. She knew that she looked frightening, especially since she was continuously rubbing her hands over her face. Make-up was anything but kind when in an aggravated situation. But that was the least of her worries at the moment.

What in bloody hell happened last night? Hadn't she gone to the party with someone else? How had she ended up with Malfoy? And on his couch _together_ no less! Why couldn't she remember anything clearly?! Everything was very murky, as if she were walking in pudding. Nothing was coherent or clear.

She pouted as she continued her pacing.

Thank goodness that she had been able to leave before Malfoy woke up. It would have been, without a doubt, the most awkward situation imaginable. Yes, his arms and closeness pointed to the contrary, but that closeness must have been due to both of them being in a drunken haze. Or was it done intentionally? She shook her head. She doubted it was the latter. He could have thought she were someone else completely and just got caught up in the moment or dream last night.

With a groan, she made her way to the bathroom adjoined to her bedroom to take a shower and stripped down hastily. She jumped in without testing the water temperature and was greeted with a cold spray. But she didn't even flinch. Instead, she squirted some shampoo in her hand and began to lather her head with vigour.

While she scrubbed, she tried to think back to last night's details. But as she did so, to her dismay, her head began to split into a massive headache. She whimpered softy as she leaned against one of the shower walls, grabbing her head and pinching her eyes shut.

_What. The. Hell?_ She thought as she massaged her temples.

This certainly wasn't a normal hangover. There was no way in Merlin that so much pain could be associated with temporary memory loss of this type. She took a deep breath while trying to clear her mind.

As soon as the headache receded, she quickly finished washing herself before stepping out. Without bothering to dry or dress, she wrapped herself in a towel and made her way back to her living room while wrapping her hair. She sat on her couch and began to bounce her knees while biting one of her thumb nails as she brainstormed.

"OK, think Hermione. Think about how you can get through this," she muttered to herself. Suddenly, with a flash of inspiration, she got up and ran to her work desk. Grabbing a quill and parchment, she made her way back and leaned over her coffee table. She quickly jotted down the following details that came to her without a second regard:

_Detail's from last night:_

_* Met someone (who?) beforehand and had dinner-Indian food_

_* Went to the Halloween party_

_* Ran into Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini. Was forced to share a table_

_* Had one (one?) drink. **Butterbeer**_

_* Someone left our table? Who?_

_* Saw and spoke to some classmates from Policies class (need to ask them questions)_

_* Ended up on Malfoy's couch, in my clothes, snuggling…how?_

_* Why can't I remember?!_

Breathing in deeply through her nose, she closed her eyes and tried to think back. Maybe if she tried to fully relax, it would come to her easily. But again, before she could dissect anything, she was greeted with a pounding ache. This time, it felt as if someone was smashing her head with a sledge hammer and her memories continued to be murky. She winced and felt the floor spin despite having her eyes closed and her feet flat on the ground. When the pain faded a little, she opened her eyes up to her ceiling as she leaned back onto her couch, groaning. She tried to clear her mind again.

At that moment, it became obvious to her that someone had tampered with her memories. She was sure of it. Or else why would she feel so miserable when she tried to recall things? She also knew that it couldn't be a hangover. According to her list, she had only had one drink: butterbeer. That hardly had any alcohol to begin with and therefore couldn't be the cause of her current disposition…

…unless her drink's alcohol content had been modified or altered. She froze temporarily at that thought before shaking her head.

_Don't be silly_, she scoffed to herself. _Who'd want me to get drunk, anyway?_

Then again, she wasn't able to remember anything clearly beyond getting ready and waking up with Malfoy.

She frowned.

Could Malfoy have done such a thing? And why? Or had it been his mate, thinking that it would have made for a great joke? She picked up her list and circled both Zabini's and Malfoy's name. If anyone was to be suspected, the Slytherin boys were definitely it.

Currently, her subconscious pointed towards Malfoy because there was no way in Hades that she would have gone willingly to his place.

Or would she?

_Of _course_ not_, she thought with a sniff. He had to have done something in order to get her there. And she had been drunk of her rocker, apparently. Still, it was a very unnerving thought. If she had gone willingly, it must have been due to some expectation of some sort. But she shook her head at that thought as well. She knew for a fact that no funny business had happened, thank Merlin. Her clothes had been in order and she felt fine. Well, with the exception of her head. There were also no marks, soreness or tell-tale signs that anything else had happened. Everything felt and looked normal.

So what was it? How did that turn of events occur? Was this some sort of belated revenge he was acting on? Maybe something that was left unfinished from their Hogwarts days? Had Malfoy's goal been to embarrass her beyond belief so he could use that moment as blackmail in the future?

No, that couldn't be it. Could it? Because that would be terrible if it were true.

She thought she had gotten to know him a little better in the last couple of weeks of study sessions. Despite their awkward and none-too-friendly start, they had been rather civil towards each other lately. Not once had he tried to jinx her or do anything to make her feel unsafe or cautious around him. In fact, she thought he was becoming a dependable study partner. Someone she could count on.

But now, after these turn of events, she wasn't too sure if it had all been an act of some sort. No, it couldn't be. He didn't seem to be that type of person. Well, nowadays he wasn't. This behaviour seemed more likely when they were children.

Then again, there was the way he had been acting around her in the last couple of days or so. At times it felt like he was acting like a…like a…jealous…boyfriend.

She gave a mirthless laugh at that last word.

Of course he wasn't. Why would he be jealous? She knew for a fact that she did not affect him like that. Their time together proved it. To be thought of as anything different was ridiculous. Besides, there was also the issue of her blood. He certainly would not be attracted someone that he, for the longest time, considered below him. And on top of it all, she knew that she was out of his league. Well, actually _he_ was out of_ her_ league. In looks, that is.

Oh, how she wished she could just remember a little without the pain. It was very frustrating and worrisome, all at the same time.

After a few more minutes of trying to come up with solutions, she realized that the best way to find answers was the old fashion way. She would have to confront Malfoy, in person, today. She made a face at that. He was the last person she wanted to see at that moment. But she knew that she wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing. If she had been able to face a blind dragon, Bellatrix and battle a war, then she could definitely face this head on.

She just hoped he even deigned himself worthy to go to school today. Actually, no, he _had _to be there. He had her project workload and they had Arithmancy today. Or else, she would make sure to give him an earful when they met again. And he did not want that from her. Nobody did.

With a sigh, she got up from her couch and made her way to back to her bedroom to get ready for the day. No use thinking or wallowing about things while being idle - she might as well be doing something useful. Besides, as she already decided, the only way she was going to get details was by asking him directly.

Hmm, maybe she should take a Pepper-Up Potion. Just in case. She knew she wasn't really drunk or sleepy but it couldn't hurt. Plus, she would be fully alert when she did get her answers. She just hoped that he didn't lie outright or make things difficult. Or else she would have to force him to tell the truth- by any means necessary.

She was not going to take no for an answer or let things slide. She _would_ get her answers, one way or another. Nobody tampered with her memories and got away with it!

* * *

><p><em>8:17 a.m., Wednesday, November 1, 2000, Draco's Parisian flat, wizarding Paris, France <em>

Draco glanced at the clock above his fireplace before taking a drag from his fag and staring back up at his ceiling as he released the puff of smoke. He didn't even bother getting up, despite running late for his writing class. He already dreaded what today was going to be like. With a shake of his head, he brought his cigarette back to his lips for another drag.

Though he knew it was a bad Muggle habit, Draco liked to smoke on occasion. Just feeling that nicotine hit his system at times helped his insides go numb. Holding in the smoke, having it burn his lungs, was a blessed thing for him. No other type of vice helped him achieve this feeling, not even Firewhiskey. Plus, the flavour was also something that he craved. Of course, this may be the addiction kicking in, but he liked to think it was something else. Smoking helped him when nothing else could to reduce stress and anxiousness. Especially at that moment, when everything felt off-kilter.

He sighed before taking another pull.

What a mess. What a fucking, utter, shitty mess.

Of course, this whole thing had to surround his so-called best mate. Blaise had a talent for creating chaos of epic proportions wherever he went. He should have known that he would go about it in the most unorthodox way to get things done. But at the time, Draco didn't question anything. He had been optimistic and had felt glad to have someone on his side. And not just anyone, mind you, but someone who knew him well and was willing to help him win the girl.

But he guessed that time apart had messed with his head. Because he had completely forgotten that enlisting Blaise's help usually meant getting in trouble.

He sighed again.

It was beyond him why Blaise thought it would be a great idea to get Granger drunk and her date sick. Not only did it not work the way it should have, bet also he was sure that she was going to figure out what happened to her sooner or later. She had probably already come to the conclusion that someone had messed with her memories by now and had likely decided to tackle him for answers. She probably even had listed him as a primary suspect.

He grimaced. He did not want to get up and face her just yet.

Knowing Granger, he knew that this was far from over. Even if he could, he knew that lying to her would be futile. She would find ways to get what she wanted. She was stubborn like that just like him. That last thought made him smirk.

Hmm, Granger.

Just mentioning her name brought back memories from the night before. Of course, they hadn't done anything inappropriate. They just slept together. Literally.

And she had felt wonderful.

She had fit perfectly in his arms, almost as if they were tailored for her and had tucked her head rather nicely under his chin. Since she was slightly shorter than he, she didn't clip him when she wiggled a bit throughout the night. Her hair had also tickled his nose while she moved but it hadn't been unpleasant. It smelled of country apple so when she had dozed off, he breathed her in deeply for several moments.

Then there was her waist. When he had wrapped his arms around her, it felt surreal. His fantasies and dreams had not done justice to reality. She was slim and petite, her hip bones soft rather than pointy. Her belly was nice and flat and he was very sure that her breasts would be just as pleasant. In fact, he actually had to wrestle with himself for a few seconds as his hands ached to trek upwards but thought twice about it. The last thing he wanted was for her to think him a pervert or to be taking advantage of her on top of everything.

And don't get him started about the feel of her arse. Her wiggling throughout the night had nearly driven him insane to say the least. He had to think of non-sexual charged things in order to defuse the feelings that stirred at front of his trousers while remaining steadfast and keeping his arms and hands in place.

Yes, she had been drunk out of her wits, but that was not a justifiable reason to be crass or for him to take advantage of the situation - Slytherin or no. Besides, he could wait until she was fully alert and then someday, in the somewhat near future, she would consent heartily to such interludes.

Though at this rate, he may have to wait a very long time before she would even think of him that way. Especially after the way she had reacted to him that morning.

Her sneaking behaviour had told him much about how she felt on their sudden closeness. Though he didn't see her face, he knew that there had been a look of horror and shock there.

He closed his eyes as he took a hearty suck, almost finishing his cigarette.

That memory made him a little sad. Though he had been somewhat courting her (without her knowledge), she still was pretty oblivious about the way she affected him. Not once had she acknowledged his growing attraction and if she suspected, she seemed to laugh it off.

Okay, maybe that was a bit unfair. He hadn't been so blatant with his feelings and his courting had been their studying sessions. In fact, they acted much the same as they did when they were at Hogwarts, minus the lethal bite in their exchanged barbs.

He huffed in frustration while he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands.

Was it really so hard for her to believe that she was desirable? She practically had him and that dumb fuck French bloke panting like dogs and eating out of the palm of her hand!

Then a small smile crept on his lips as he remembered something.

Despite what she may or may not feel for him, her boldness last night had taken him by surprise. If she really did despise him thoroughly, then she wouldn't have been so demanding about him joining her on the couch, would she? She had even yanked his arm towards her waist when he had settled behind her. That had to count for something.

Right?

Therefore, subconsciously, she may have already accepted him as a trustworthy person in her life. Granted, they were far from being friends, but still. They were building towards something good. At least he hoped they were.

If not, then no big deal. He didn't want to be her friend, or best friend for that matter.

He wanted more than that.

With a deep sigh, he sat up slowly. He picked up his wand and Vanished away the filter from his left hand before running both through his hair.

Despite the smell of the cigarette smoke around his flat, he could still detect her scent around the couch. Without thinking it through, he picked up the pillow they had used and brought it to his nose.

Ahh. It still smelled of country apple. So lovely.

Before he could take another whiff, he froze and curled his lips in disgust.

This was what he was being reduced to - sniffing a pillow!

_Unbelievable_, he thought as he tossed it back down and shook his head.

He was a Malfoy, for Circe's sake! Not a fucking love-sick puppy!

He stood up and headed towards his bathroom.

Despite missing out on his first class, he knew he had to attend the others. No matter how much he wanted to skip out, he couldn't. For Arithmancy, he was the one that had their project notes and he knew that Granger would be very upset if he didn't show.

_Stupid, stupid move, Draco_, he reprimanded as he removed his shoes hastily.

He wanted to drop-kick himself for being so tenacious. If he hadn't fought her tooth and nail to keep them yesterday, he would have been free to smoke himself into oblivion for the rest of the day. But now, here he was, stuck and committed. Not only that, he also had to attend Potions class with that insufferable bint Marion.

Actually, he cracked a small smile at the thought of her. Knowing Blaise, Marion was not going to be a bother for a while. If their interaction last night meant anything, she was most likely to have been comforted thoroughly. His friend _was_ very thorough. So if he had to worry about anything at all in regards to her, it would be her inquiries about Blaise.

Draco smirked at that. It was going to be blessed relief for him. He had no time or patience to deal with her anyway and he would be glad to answer questions about Blaise.

Let him diddle a bit more with that bird. It was a win-win for both of them in this case.

_Guess the rest of the day won't be so terrible, then_, he thought as he began to get his bath ready.

* * *

><p><em>11:12 a.m., Wednesday, November 1, 2000, First Year's Advanced Arithmancy <em>

_I take it back_, Draco thought to himself with an internal groan for the twelfth time that day.

The day was not going the way he had hoped so far.

As he had settled himself in his seat before class started, Granger had walked straight at him with determined steps and took the seat next to him. Though she didn't say anything right away, he knew by the look on her face that she meant to confront him later.

He grimaced.

He had been hoping that she would be acting slightly embarrassed from their interaction that morning. But that seemed to be useless, wishful thinking. She looked anything but bothered, though she was a bit more flustered than usual.

Today was not going to be over without a confrontation of some sort. He was sure of it.

But that didn't mean he couldn't try to prolong the unavoidable for as long as possible.

Throughout their class, she had been trying to sneak him notes. At first, he took the first note from her and crumpled it in his fist without reading. He had heard her indignant small gasp but that didn't stop her from trying again.

She was now on her sixth note and this time she had gotten a bit creative. As the professor broke them into their partnered class activity, she had decided to send him one in the form of a bird. At first, he didn't realize what it was until he felt pecking at the back of his neck - non-stop – and it was starting to sting. However, before he could catch it, the note would fly away.

He was starting to get frustrated, especially since the bird would disappear from sight as soon as their professor approached but then reappeared soon afterwards when she would walk away. He was getting sick of it.

Therefore, when the bird came back after disappearing a third time, he turned quickly and flashed his hand behind him. To his glee, he finally caught it. But, since he had moved too fast, he also slipped out of his chair. With a look of surprise, he crashed to the ground in an ungraceful heap.

A loud snort resonated in the room as the people around them covered their mouths, trying to stifle their laughter. Draco's face burned beet red and he tried to scowl at the crowd. Sadly, that only made the group snicker loudly while Granger clamped both of her hands over her mouth, her shoulders shaking in silent laughter.

He got up with as much dignity he could muster and dusted off his trousers while sending Granger a dark glare.

"What's going on?" the professor called out as she made her way back from the back tables. "Mr. Malfoy?"

The class quieted quickly and averted their eyes from both Hermione and Draco. Hermione's eyes focused on the worksheet in front of her as Draco took his seat again while trying to look nonchalant.

"Nothing's wrong, Professor. Just had to dust off my trousers," he replied politely.

When the professor looked around the class for another answer, no one made an effort to give an explanation. After two more seconds, she shook her head and walked back towards were she'd been.

Once she was gone, Draco gave everyone in the room a dirty look before ripping apart the note in his hands. He did not even bother reading it.

No one laughed at him, damn it! No one!

Oh, Granger was going to pay. And _soon_.

With a sniff, he pulled out his wand and burned the remnants of the note without caring who saw. He even heard her gasp again but ignored it.

To hell with it. If she wanted a confrontation so badly, then he would give her one.

"_Malfoy!"_ he heard Granger hiss at him.

He didn't reply. Instead, he turned his back to her and began to work on their worksheet – without her help.

As soon as class was dismissed, he swiftly picked up his bag and walked out.

"Malfoy!" Granger called again. "Malfoy, wait!"

He heard her voice begin to fade behind him as he made his way towards the closest Apparition point. But before he stepped into it, he hid himself in a nook nearby and waited for her to show up.

He didn't have to wait long. After another minute, he saw her approach and stomp her foot in frustration.

"Bollocks!" he heard her mutter to herself as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

Before she could realize what was happening, he grabbed one of her arms and pulled her towards him while her back faced his front. She shrieked in surprise for a second, causing him to place a hand over her mouth to silence her. He didn't release her until she was inches in front of him. He gave her a murderous look.

She in turn looked at him with frightened, wide eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know, evil cliffhanger! Ahh! :P**


	14. Confrontation Galore

**Author's Note:** Yes yes, I know. I'm terrible for delay. I don't know what to say except that life can suck big time. :/

Anywho, I hope this makes up for its tardiness!

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns it all. I only own this plot.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12: Confrontation Galore<strong>

Hermione gulped as she took in his face. He certainly looked furious beyond words.

"Malfoy," she started timidly, "I'm-"

He growled softly at her as he moved closer, causing her to wince and stop talking. Her back hit the wall.

Maybe antagonizing him with that note hadn't her smartest move to date.

What was that Hogwarts motto? _Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus?_ Never tickle a sleeping dragon? How very fitting that she should be thinking about it when this dragon-named individual was about to obliterate her any second now.

She took a deep breath while pushing against his chest and tried again.

"Okay, I know I was out of line back there and I am very s…"

His face darkened, pinning her with his eyes, making her stop mid-apology. She grimaced.

Oh dear, that definitely didn't look good at all. Nevertheless, she ploughed on with her rambled apology.

"I-I really am. I should have respected your wishes for privacy and space during class and I was very bang out of order. I am thoroughly sorry."

He continued to glare at her, causing her to huff indignantly. Really, what more did he want?

"What more do you want me to say?" she voiced in frustration as she tried to shove him away. He barely budged.

"I don't know," he finally replied with sarcasm. "What else _can_ you say?"

"Fine. I am also sorry for making an arse of you in class."

"No, you're not."

"I am!"

"Not."

"Am! And can you please move? You're suffocating me!"

He gave a mirthless chuckle at her complaint. "Suffocating? I'm merely within your space."

"Exactly! So move!"

Instead of moving away, he stepped closer. They were now nose-to-nose and her hands could feel the heat of his chest. She groaned.

"I didn't mean move closer! Move away. _Please_."

"Why should I? You said yourself that you didn't respect my wishes. So why should I respect yours?"

She closed her eyes and gave a small groan. She could feel his breath hit her cheeks and shuddered.

"I just apologized," she said in an exasperated tone, sliding her hands down from his chest to her sides. "What else is there?"

"Oh, don't worry. I'll think of something."

That caused her to snap her eyes open. Wait, what did he say?

"But...w-what? What do you mean you'll 'think of something'?"

"You heard me. This business isn't done."

At that reply, her gawking expression turned to a scowl.

"I wasn't antagonizing you for the sake of it! I was trying to get your attention! I just wanted to ask you to meet me later today in order to discuss last night - and this morning!"

At the mention of last night, he stiffened slightly but quickly returned to antagonizing her.

"Well, as _honourable_ as your intentions may have been, the fact remains that you made me look like an idiot in front of everyone."

"Which I've already apologized for!" she cried.

He cringed at her tone and wrinkled his nose.

"Must you yell? I am right in front of your face."

"Yes, I do! I have already asked you to remove yourself from it. Really! Why are you so close?"

He shrugged. "What's the big deal?"

"Well…well…it just is!"

"Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"Yes!"

At this, he grinned despite himself.

"Really?" he asked as he began to twirl one of her curls around his finger.

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"_That_."

He pursed his lips. "Hmm…exactly what's _that_?"

He continued to play with her hair, causing her to slap away his hand.

"Ouch! What the _fuck_, Granger?"

"Stop_ touching_ me."

"Hey, you were touching me first."

"No, I wasn't! I was attempting to shove you away!"

"You still touched me."

"It wasn't intentional – but you are!"

"Bloody hell. It's not like I was violating you."

As if to make his point, he grabbed her hips and pulled them towards his. This caused her to yelp and her eyes to widen.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Let go of me!" she yelled as she pushed against his chest again.

"_No_."

"Malfoy-"

"You said you wanted to talk. So talk."

"Not like this!" She continued to struggle and try to shove him.

"What? I'm merely holding on to you. What's wrong with that?"

"It's against my will! And it's far too intimate."

He laughed at her complaint. This was much better than glaring at her. At least he got to touch her now.

Hermione, however, did not think the same. She was at her wits end.

Without further ado, she grabbed her wand out of her trouser pocket and pointed the tip under his chin. He shut up immediately.

"Let go of me," she said softly.

With a smirk, he released her slowly and backed away a step.

"You're _such_ a prude."

"It's not about being a prude, you brute. It's about you knowing your boundaries."

"You certainly didn't hammer on about boundaries last night."

She narrowed her eyes at his reply and pressed her wand deeper into his skin. That was the first time he mentioned anything about it.

"Yes, about last night...what exactly happened?"

Despite feeling her wand on his Adam's apple, his smirk grew.

"You need to be more specific. And can you please put away your wand? It's starting to burn my stubble."

"No, I will not."

"Fine. Then, I won't answer."

She gave him a small smile at his reply. "You do know that you are at my mercy right now?"

"No, not really."

"Oh?" In order to drive her point home, she shoved her wand a little bit harder against his throat.

However, before she could gloat or bask in glee, he quickly grabbed her wand hand and flipped her around without warning. Her face and front now faced the wall while her wand clattered to the floor.

When he lifted the hand he held behind her back slightly, she cried out in surprise.

Draco leaned towards her ear and whispered, "So…you were saying?"

"Okay, okay! I don't have you at my mercy after all," she replied hysterically.

"I thought not."

"I shouldn't have pointed my wand at you."

"And?"

"I was very out of line again."

"And?"

Her eyes widened. "And what?"

"And?" he prompted again, squeezing her hand. She yelped once more.

"You win! I'm sorry!"

"Hmm. That's about the third time you've apologized in the last five minutes. I'm starting to think you give them out too freely."

She wiggled against him, trying to free herself. Unfortunately, she wasn't so lucky. Instead, he ended up tightening his hold on her, getting her closer to his chest.

She groaned. This was definitely not working out at all. How had this whole thing spun out of control so quickly?

Her arm began to hurt from the strain and she decided to try another tactic.

"Please let me go," she whispered.

"No."

"Malfoy-"

"The way I see it, you are at _my _mercy. You said you wanted to talk. So…here we are, in a private space, together and alone. Now, if I were to let you go, you're very likely to pick up your wand, threaten me – or hex me, I am not quite sure - and then we will never get this fucking thing cleared up. Which, by the way, will only cause you to aggravate me; more than you've already done."

"But I-"

"Therefore," he cut in again as he tightened his hold on her, causing her to whimper softly. "I think it's safe to say that this is probably your best option. Don't you agree?"

As he talked, he felt her free hand travelling up his leg and head towards his middle.

He chuckled at her attempt.

"That's not my wand you're grabbing," he said, amused.

"Argh!" she cried as she moved her hand away.

"Why Granger, I didn't know you had it in you," he said with a laugh.

"I wasn't trying to grab…_that._"

"Well, I beg to differ. That squeeze was uncalled for."

She blushed magenta and began to splutter in reply as his laugh continued.

"Alright," he said, taking a deep breath. "Enough about me and my wand. Speak."

"I didn't mean to grab you!"

"Whatever. Stop changing the subject."

"I wasn't."

He raised an eyebrow and looked at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine. How in Merlin's name did I end up with you?"

"End up with me…how? When?"

"Oh, stop being so coy!" she replied as she turned her head to glare at him. "I obviously didn't end up at your place out of free will!"

"So you assume."

"Malfoy-"

"Granger."

"Ugh, this isn't working. Please let me go."

"No."

"Please!"

"Hey, who's to say you won't violate me again?"

"I already said that I didn't mean to grab you!"

"Irrelevant. This is fine."

"This is not fine! This is inhumane! I can't keep talking about this with my arm being twisted. You are not even taking me seriously!"

He gave her a mock surprised look. "What does taking you seriously have to do with the way you're being held?"

"It's just…" She took a deep breath and tried again. "I promise I won't hex you."

"Lies."

"No, I swear. On my honour as a witch."

He stared at her, mulling over her compromise.

With a dramatic sigh, he replied, "Fine. But I'm holding you to your promise."

He released her slowly as he nudged her wand behind one of his feet – inconspicuously, of course. No use in under-estimating her, Gryffindor or no.

Meanwhile, she massaged her hand and arm as she turned to face him with a frown.

"Was that really necessary?" she said in exasperation.

"Of course. Must I remind you that _you_ were the one that pointed a wand at me?"

"Oh, please. It wasn't like I was going to curse you with an Unforgiveable. A small hex is the least of your worries."

He shrugged. "A threat is a threat."

"Ugh! You're unbelievable."

"Why, thank you."

"I didn't mean that as a compliment. Now, back to what I asked you."

He sighed as he leaned against the wall. He might as well get comfortable.

"No, you didn't end up at my place by force."

"But…how did I end up getting drunk - no, no, don't interrupt me! I did the count. I only had half a butterbeer. That's not enough alcohol to get me as drunk as I was."

"Hey, if you're insinuating that your beverage was tampered with-"

"Well, it's obvious that it was! Along with my memories. Don't you dare deny _that._"

"I wasn't going to!"

That reply surprised her before confirmed suspicion took over her features.

"So it _was _you!"

"I didn't say that either!"

"But you just said you weren't going to deny that! Why did you do it?!"

"See, this is why I didn't want to get into this with you. I knew you were going to point a finger and blame me!"

Of course, he was partly responsible but technically it wasn't he that did it.

_Fucking Blaise_.

"Obviously you had something to do with it!"

"I did _not_!" he yelled as he got closer to her again. This time, instead of taking a step back, she held her ground and looked back at him in defiance.

"Okay, fine. For argument's sake, I'll say it wasn't you. That leaves Zabini, then. You told him to do something to me, didn't you?"

He scoffed. "Now, why would I do that?"

"How should I know? You're the puppet master of this whole thing!"

"To be frank, you are not worth that much of an effort." _Liar, you know she is._

_Shut up, you!_

She glowered and pointed a finger at him. "_Stop_ lying to me!"

"I'm _not lying_!"

They proceeded to glare at each other for a few seconds before she shook her head in disappointment and looked to the floor. "I knew I wouldn't get anything out of you."

Before he could say anything else, she _Accioed_ her wand non-verbally and tucked it back into her pocket. She took a deep breath, turned on her heel and made her way out of the nook towards the hallway.

Draco's frown deepened at that. This wasn't over yet!

She was two steps away from him when he grabbed her arm, causing her to be tugged back harshly.

"Where the hell are you going?" he said in a growl. "I thought you said you wanted to talk?"

She wiggled her arm out of his grasp harshly, causing his frown to turn into a look of frustration.

"Obviously you aren't going to be truthful," she snapped. "And frankly, I'm exhausted from being around you."

"Hey, you were then one that's been antagonizing me for this talk all fucking morning!"

"Because I thought we could be mature adults about it! Obviously, I was wrong because all you've done is violate me, assault me and then proceeded to deny everything."

"I did not violate you!" he yelled indignantly.

"Yes, you did! Or else, what was that grabbing of my hips then?"

"I was just trying to unsettle you!"

"And what about my arm being twisted?"

"You're the one who assaulted me first, remember? And your way of communicating was childish to begin with!"

"I've already apologized for both incidents!"

"And your apologies were unaccepted!"

"Ugh, you know what? Just stay the hell away from me."

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" he yelled as he pulled at his hair in frustration.

"I mean it! We're done working as partners."

At that, his eyes widened as he released his hair abruptly.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Granger, don't be-"

Before he could say anything else, she whipped out her wand again. Only this time, she pointed it at his groin.

"If you say 'don't be stupid', I _will_ hex your balls off."

He clamped his mouth shut and scowled.

"Now," she began, "I'm going to leave and you are _not_ going to stop me again. I will Owl you later today with an outline that will evenly distribute the project until our due date and we will both work separately."

His scowl deepened. This whole thing had not worked to his advantage, not one bit.

"And furthermore, when we work in class, we will present a united front. Therefore, I will expect you to hold up on your end of the work. It's the least you can do."

"You're making a huge mistake," he said in a low voice.

"Maybe. But I don't trust you around me anymore."

He sighed at that. Nope, nothing had worked out at all.

"And don't worry," she said with mock sympathy. "I'll find another way to figure out what happened – without your help."

Before he could say anything, she turned once more and left him in that nook, looking at her retreating form.

_Stupid, fucking, son-of-a-_

Without thinking twice about it, he growled loudly as his arm lunged out and his fist punched the wall in front of him. _Hard_.

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><p><strong>AN: Reviews would be awesome. :)**


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